





THE LIBRARY 

OF | 

THE UNIVERSITY 

OF CALIFORNIA 
LOS ANGELES 


IN MEMORY OF 


MRS. VIRGINIA B. SPORER 





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THE ADVENTURER 





THE 
ADVENTURER 


BY 


RUDOLF HERZOG 


AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION BY 


J. W. van Eyndhoven 


7 


New York 
Desmond FitzGerald, Inc. 


Copyright, 1912 
By Desmonp FirzGeraLp, Inc, 
All Rights Reserved 


THE ADVENTURER 


2041397 





THE ADVENTURER 


CHAPTER I 


Tue children, tired of play, sat on the retaining-wall 
at the Deutz end of the bridge-of-ships, pressed their 
hot faces against the iron pickets, and looked across 
the river at Cologne, long stretched and crescent 
shaped. A few tardy rays of the winter sun still 
gleamed upon the water, tried in vain to reach one an- 
other, quivered in the current, and were lost as tiny 
glowing dots. ... A silvery tone remained in the air. 
Then followed that wonderful clearness, which fills the 
souls of men as well as the soul of nature, and makes all 
things seem to take on sharper contours before the 
settling of gloom. Gabled and quaint, the spires of the 
Cathedral and the churches rising like pointing fingers 
toward the sky, the ancient, gray silhouette of Cologne 
was outlined along the Rhine. 

It was quiet upon the broad waterway. Unwieldy 
freight boats, long tows, and passenger steamers with 
high freeboards lay close together in the harbor like a 
tired herd, resting during the winter and awaiting bet- 
ter water conditions. Only the small boats for local 
traffic, now sole masters of the great river, darted 
quickly from shore to shore, letting the smoke rise more 
dense and black than usual from their funnels, and 


2 THE ADVENTURER 


sounding their steam whistles and ship’s bell more 
loudly and more defiantly. When they made fast to 
take aboard new passengers, silence spread over the 
river and hovered at the feet of the mighty old city of 
the Rhine. 

* Once, it was sunk and lost.” The little girl, who 
sat between the two boys upon the river wall of Deutz, 
raised her shoulders as if she felt a chill of fear, and 
looked straight ahead with shining eyes. 

“Silly!” sneered her neighbor to the left, pushing 
back the bright-colored cap that showed him to be a 
Gymnasium pupil. 

“But old Klaus told me,” replied the little one. 
“ Two peasants had cursed Cologne, because they had 
been cheated by Cologne merchants, and the city dis- 
appeared before their eyes.” 

* That is too silly,” insisted the knowing youngster. 
* How would it have come back? ” 

“The peasants prayed for its return, because they 
could not sell their vegetables without it.” 

“Oh, my! how smart! If that were true, the Co- 
logners would have hung those stupid peasants without 
much ado the very next time they came to town. They 
would stand no such nonsense from hayseeds.” 

* But I’m sure I know,” said the little one, piqued, 
and turned her back upon him. 

Dusk was touching the city. Alleys and streets 
were receding as if behind a veil. Only the steeples 
stood fast and remained, seen from afar, the signs 
of the city, flanking the imposing bulk of the Cathedral 
like guardians of its majesty. 

The little one sighed. Her second companion, who 
had not shaken off his reverie, now turned hastily. 


THE ADVENTURER 3 


“ Are you cold? ” 

She shook her dark curly head. A crimson ribbon 
was drawn through her hair. 

* Oh, it is so beautiful ” And, after a pause, “I 
can count all the steeples, and each steeple has a story. 
I’d like to know them all.” 

* Ask me,” begged the other, and brushed his reddish 
hair underneath the edge of his hat. 

The boy with the cap, a young patrician, measured 
him with a look of contempt. 

* You are best informed about your synagogue.” 

* Did I ask you, or Moritz?” snapped the girl 
angrily. 

* Just ask me,” said the elder boy. He had turned 
pale, and looked nervously at the girl. “ Laurenz can 
go home, if he does not like it here.” 

“Go yourself. You always force your company 
upon us. They probably don’t want you in Se- 
kunda? ” 

‘“‘Untertertianer,” said the other with quivering lips. 

“cs Jew ! ” 

“That is no insult.” He turned to the girl, who 
listened expectantly. “I am not going to spoil this 
beautiful evening with a fight.” 

* Oh * said the little one, disappointed. “I 
should like to have seen Laurenz get a beating.” And 
then she returned to her former theme with the rapid 
change of a child’s mood. “ Look at the Cathedral. 
Is it true that the devil took its first architect? ” 

“ That is a legend,” said Moritz Lachner. “ As the 
building was never finished, the people told one another 
that Master Gerhard von Ryle, the master builder, 
while high up on the Cathedral roof, had proposed a 








4 THE ADVENTURER 


bet to the devil that he would finish the Cathedral be- 
fore the devil could dig a canal from Trier to Cologne. 
But, through the gossip of his wife, Master Gerhard 
lost the bet and threw himself from the scaffolding of 
the steeple. That was said to be the reason why no 
more stones would hold after that.” 

* Because the bet was sinful,” triumphed Laurenz 
Terbroich. “ All artists are sinners.” 

Moritz Lachner threw a quick, anxious glance at his 
little playmate, who was just in the act of blowing on 
her reddened hands. 

* Go on, Moritz. And the great Saint Martin along- 
side? I could be afraid of that.” 

“Tt was built up so defiantly because it formerly 
stood upon an island, and had to defend itself against 
the water.” 

“And were there really no robbers in it?” 

‘It is said that Scotch monks built the church like a 
Scottish castle, in order to feel at home in it. The 
truth of that I intend to investigate.” 

Laurenz Terbroich slapped his thighs and sneered, 
* Moritz! Moritz Lachner will investigate it! To- 
morrow I'll tell that to the Archbishop! ” 

“ To the right of the Cathedral there is Saint Gereon. 
Tell me, Moritz, what you know about that.” 

“On the spot where that church stands, Captain 
Gereon and his pious soldiers were butchered because 
they would not abjure their Christian faith.” 

“Oh, my! the church does look very gloomy.” 

* Lachner likes that story best,” exclaimed Laurenz. 
“ A whole legion of Christians killed!” 

“If you look to the left from Saint Martin’s,” said 
Lachner, his nostrils quivering, “ you will see the tower 


THE ADVENTURER 5 


of the Rathaus. That is the most beautiful tower in 
Cologne, yes, in all Germany. Only ask your class 
teacher. And that was built to honor you patricians. 
—In your honor, because the people had taken all of 
you prisoners and had locked you up. And from the 
fines you had to pay, the guilds built this beautiful 
Rathaus tower.” 

“Oh, yes,” echoed Terbroich, “ and close to this 
beautiful Rathaus is the Judengasse, and as that tower 
was so beautiful when finished, your people were no 
longer tolerated in this neighborhood. So they cleaned 
up the section and swept you Jews out through the 
gates, where you had to stay until the time of the 
French Revolution! Oh, yes!” 

** You—you—suddenly disclose surprising knowledge 
of local history,” stammered Lachner. 

“T have acquired that especially for your benefit, 
and in your honor, because you seek our society so 
much.” 

“ Your—society? ” 

* Do your scrapping later,” shouted the little girl, 
jumping upon a big stone in the retaining wall. “ What 
is that story of the eleven thousand maidens? ” 

And readily Moritz Lachner informed her. “ They 
are lying in Saint Ursula’s, in the north of the city. 
You can’t see the little ancient church from here. 
There was a heathen prince who wanted to marry the 
daughter of the king of Britain, and threatened to 
make war upon the land if he did not get her. Then 
the pious Ursula promised to marry him, on condition 
that/he would become a Christian, and that she be 
allowed to make a pilgrimage to Rome, accompanied by 
eleven thousand maidens of her country. But when 


6 THE ADVENTURER 


they returned from their visit to the Pope, and were 
about to land at Cologne, which was then beleaguered by 
the Huns, they were all killed by the brutal heathen 
warriors.” 

** Surely because they would not marry the ugly sol- 
diers.” 

“If she had not had a prince for a suitor, Ursula 
would probably not have changed her mind, either,” 
skeptically remarked Laurenz Terbroich. “In that 
respect all the girls are alike.” 

* Yes, a prince,” drawled the little one, and her eyes 
rested on the good-looking patrician. 

“* Shall I tell more? ” Moritz Lachner asked hastily. 
“ Over there, at the Neumarkt, is Sankt Aposteln. The 
wife of a poor knight had given birth to twelve chil- 
dren 24 

** He lies!” said Laurenz Terbroich. ‘* Only rabbits 
have such litters.” 

** Twelve boys,” Lachner continued anxiously, as if 
he feared to lose his position as narrator. “ And as she 
could not feed them, she wanted to drown them. But 
the Archbishop found the children near the water, took 
them with him, and raised them to become priests. He 
built for them the Church of the Apostles, because they 
had also been twelve.—And, further to the south, you 
see Saint Mary in the Capitol. It was erected on the 
spot where the old Romans had their government build- 
ing, when they were living in Cologne. There the wife 
of King Pepin was buried, the one who kept her stepson, 
Karl Martell, a prisoner in Cologne. And in the 
Church of Saint Alban a host is kept that turned into 
flesh in the mouth of an infidel—But Albertus Chapel, 
in Saint Andreas, is more interesting. It contains the 





THE ADVENTURER 7 


remains of the great Dominican scientist, Albertus 
Magnus. He was a magician and a master of witch- 
craft, and yet a saint, and the teacher of St. Thomas 
Aquinas, who found a dangerous opponent in the 
smooth Franciscan Duns Scotus. Duns Scotus was 
buried not far away in the Minoriten Kirche, and - 

* Now put an end to this at last!” Laurenz Ter- 
broich interrupted him angrily. ‘“ You can’t tell us 
that the priest teaches you catechism.” 

Lachner was silent. 

The lanterns were being raised upon the bridge. 
The city had gradually disappeared in the darkness. 
Only the bulk of the Cathedral rose weirdly, like an in- 
comprehensible, supernatural apparition visible against 
the evening sky. And, as if the lanterns on the bridge 
had given the signal, the lights flashed up on the op- 
posite shore, running along the harbor streets up to 
the defiant old castle, the Bayernthurm. They ap- 
peared in the Rheinstrasse and further toward the 
heart of the city in all the alleys of the older section, 
and in all the fashionable streets of the Neustadt. And 
again the silhouette of Cologne appeared in the midst 
of reddish ether, gabled and quaint, with pointing 
steeples and looming basilicas; filled with the deep 
breath of the past and the warm pulse of the living— 
the eternal city of Rhenish lore and legend. . . . 

The little girl, while running along the fence fol- 
lowing the lights, called out: “ Oh, if I could have it, I 
would want all there is of Cologne.” 

‘JT will present it to you,” said Lachner, breathless, 
and tried to grasp her hand. 

* You ? What are you going to be?” 

** An historian.” 








8 THE ADVENTURER 


** What is that, an historian? ” 

“ A writer of history.” 

“ Of fairy tales and the like? ” 

“Of the stories of people and their cities.” 

“I’m going to have my father’s factories,” said 
Laurenz Terbroich, throwing his head far back. “ Rug 
factories. One bale of rugs brings in more money than 
a hundred bales of history books.” 

“ Really? ” asked the girl in surprise. 

“If they are Lachner’s stories, more than a thou- 
sand bales.” 

“Well, Laurenz, then I’ll marry you.” 

*T don’t know if my parents would allow that.” 

* You don’t say! The proud Laurenz! My father 
is greater than yours! ” 

* That’s very doubtful.” 

“Tt is not doubtful at all! My father is a doctor, 
and, and ” 

* An artist,” said Moritz Lachner, “a great artist.” 

“That is the reason why you have such a funny 
name,” said Laurenz, with a queer look. ‘‘ You haven’t 
even a real Christian name.” 

“My name is Carmen! That means a song ;—if you 
have not yet learned that in school. Because I am his 
most beautiful song, father says. That is the reason.” 

* Are you sure Dr. Otten is your father? ” sneered 
the boy. 

* What do you say? ” 

* Well, because he is never with you in Cologne.” 

se What ? 39 

* And, anyway, artists never have real wives, and, 
therefore, they haven’t any real children.” 

Then the little girl was upon him. 








THE ADVENTURER 9 


*Qutch, outch, you cat! You scratched me!” 

Quick as the wind she dashed back. Furious, the 
boy ran after her. She caught Moritz Lachner by the 
sleeve and dragged her clumsy ally to and fro between 
herself and her pursuer. “Take me up,” she panted. 
Lachner stooped, and she climbed upon his back. 
** Now at him!” she cried, and Moritz Lachner forgot 
his Sekunda dignity and went at the enemy like a war 
elephant, carrying an Amazon queen. 

Now she grasped Laurenz Terbroich’s cap and, 
screaming with delight, threw it far out into the street. 
Then the bareheaded one attacked Lachner, who could 
not free his hands, as they were serving Carmen as 
stirrups, and kicked him on the shins. Moritz pressed 
his lips together, and not a sound told of his pain. 

Quickly the girl bent over and grasped the soft 
black hair of their antagonist with both hands. 

“Outch! Outch! Carmen, let go!” 

* Will I be your wife? Yes or no?” 

Let go! Mary and Joseph!” 

* Will I be your wife? ” 

‘Yes! Yes!” 

The little girl slid down from Lachner’s back, ran 
out to the street, picked up the cap, dusted it care- 
fully, and came back with short swagger strides, her 
arm extended. “ Here it is,” she said, looking at her 
friend, now restored to favor. ‘“ It really has not been 
soiled.” 

“ Give it here,” growled Laurenz, making a wry face, 
as he tore the cap from her hand and put it on. 

* Did I hurt you much, Laurenz? ” 

“TI am bleeding,” whined the boy, touching his tem- 
ple with his forefinger. ‘ You scratched me.” 


10 THE ADVENTURER 


“Show me!” She rose on her tiptoes and carefully 
looked at the tiny wound. 

“ Have you any court-plaster? ” 

*“T have none.” 

“And you, Moritz? Oh, hurry up!” 

Moritz Lachner laboriously produced a big pocket- 
book from his trousers pocket and took from it a leaflet 
of English plaster. Before he could present it, the 
little one had taken it from his hand and had moistened 
it with her tongue. He stood aside and looked on. 

“Stoop, Laurenz! So——” She pasted the strip 
of plaster on his temple. ‘“ Now you are a knight, 
Laurenz, and you carry a scar in honor of your lady. 
And for that, your lady rewards you with a kiss.” 

She placed her hands on his ears and kissed him with 
unconscious child lips. 

** Come,” said the boy, “ we'll run to the city. There 
it is most amusing.” 

He took the little girl’s hand, ran with her to the 
bridge, paid her toll as well as his, as a cavalier should, 
and then they raced over the groaning, shaking planks. 

Moritz Lachner still stood in the same spot. Slowly 
his blood rose from his cheeks to his temples. He doffed 
his little round felt hat and mechanically stroked his 
reddish hair. He was ashamed. ... He, the four- 
teen-year-old student, had run hither with that con- 
ceited twelve-year-old, and with little ten-year-old Car- 
men, instead of sitting behind his beloved books. Only 
because the other boy was a patrician’s son and the 
girl an artist’s child, and—oh, well, yes—because, she 
was beautiful, and the daughter of Dr. Joseph Otten, 
the famous singer and modern elocutionist! And he 
had told her stories all afternoon, and had ransacked 


THE ADVENTURER 11 


his store of knowledge for her. Had played horse 
with her, and had let the furious Laurenz ruin his 
trousers on her account. And, finally, he had sacri- 
ficed his English plaster, and had looked on while his 
rival had been kissed. And then—his eyes grew moist. 
Then he had been left standing there. In their joy, 
they had forgotten him. 

In the distance he saw them running over the bridge- 
of-ships. They chased one another, and ran against 
a couple of bridge-tenders, who scolded as the children 
ran away. Another moment he struggled with himself. 
Then he tramped after them. 

** She does not know yet that her father will sing at 
the Guerzenich to-night.” Thus he tried to overcome 
his sense of shame. “TI must tell her that.” 

“To-day I can stay out until eight o’clock,” the lit- 
tle girl confided to her friend Laurenz as they left the 
bridge. ‘* Mother did not answer when I asked her. 
She was so silent all day. And silence means consent.” 

They slipped past the Rheingasse. There stood the 
house of the Ottens, narrow and high, gabled with 
heavy beams, which showed the rich carvings, typical 
of old Cologne. In spite of the wintry evening, a 
stockily built man, with a stubby gray beard, wearing 
a knitted woolen jacket, closely buttoned, and a boat- 
man’s cap, stood leaning against the doorpost. He 
was smoking a thin-stemmed Holland clay pipe, and 
blew smoke rings across the narrow street. 

* Old Klaus,” whispered the little one. ‘ Come 
quickly.” They disappeared in the shadow and fled to 
the Heumarkt. 

The boatman carefully took his pipe from his mouth 
and looked after them. ‘ Holy Mother, sure that was 


12 THE ADVENTURER 


our Carmche? And with that good-for-nothing young 
Terbroich!” And he shook his old head disapprov- 
ingly. 

Just then another figure appeared around the cor- 
ner, looked searchingly about, and tried to disappear 
unseen. : 

*Lachner’s Moritz,” grumbled the old man, now 
satisfied. ‘‘ Hey, there, you Moritz. They’ve gone up 
to the Heumarkt. Be sure and look out well for our 
Carmche! ” 

_ Moritz Lachner, discovered, turned on him angrily. 
‘What is that to me? ” he asked stubbornly. “I am 
not her nurse-maid.” 

** And I only tell you the one thing, look out well.” 
With that Klaus quietly replaced the pipe between his 
pointed lips. 

*T am going home,” said the boy to himself, and 
yet he walked in the direction of the Heumarkt. “I 
am going home, straight home.” Now he had reached 
the equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IIL, the first 
Prussian king to rule over the Rhineland. Stooping, 
he crawled around the iron fence and looked out in 
every direction. Disappointed, he arose. “ They 
probably have gone to the Altenmarkt,” he thought. 
“But now, I am going home.” And then he, too, 
walked to the Altenmarkt. 

There he discovered them, as they slowly crossed 
the square, holding hands. 

“JT will not force myself upon them,” he mumbled. 
*T will not.” 

At the Jan van Werth fountain he had reached them 
and heard the girl say: 

* That is Jan and Griet? ” 


THE ADVENTURER 13 


Laurenz laughed. 

“Why do you laugh? ” 

“* When Jan had become a general of cavalry, he for- 
got all about Griet.” 

“Ts that so? And when Jan was a hired man at 
the Knempes estate in Cologne, Griet, the peasant’s 
daughter, would not have him. That was the 
way!” 

** And then Griet became a shriveled old apple woman, 
and Jan proudly entered Cologne, riding through the 
Severins Gate as a general, and there sat Griet before 
her apple stand and roasted chestnuts for a living.” 

** Well—and then? ” 

** Jan van Werth enjoyed her misery.” 

* That is not so!” 

** But he stopped his horse and said, ‘ Oh, Griet, who 
would have thought this?’ ” 

* And Griet did not allow him to ridicule her, for she 
answered, ‘ Oh, Jan, who would have thought this!’ ” 

Then they both laughed. 

“Tf I forget you, you'll be another Griet! ” 

* But you’ll not be Jan by a good deal! ” 

He galloped toward her with stiffened legs, saluted, 
and said, “ Griet, who would have thought it!” 

She wiped her little nose, and piped back, “ Jan, who 
would have known it!” 

* Tl catch you!” 

*Griet, who would have thought it!” he cried, and 
tried to catch her. 

** Jan, who would have thought it!” she screamed in 
return and escaped around the monument. 

Breathless, laughing and shouting, they ran to and 
fro, Now he stretched out his hand toward her wav- 


14 THE ADVENTURER 


ing locks, and she fell into his arms. With their last 
leap they collided with Moritz Lachner. 

“What do you want?” fumed Laurenz Terbroich, 
clinching his fist. ‘‘ Are you so thick-skinned as not to 
notice that we don’t want you? Go home to your 
store! There you can help your old man, selling rab- 
bit skins.” 

“Yes, go home!” echoed the girl angrily. 

Moritz Lachner’s eyes wandered restlessly from one 
to the other. For the first time, he realized the brutal 
carelessness of others’ feelings of which children alone 
are capable. He was unspeakably miserable. 

“Why are you standing there?” demanded the 
patrician boy. 

* Yes, why do you stand there? ” chimed in the little 
one. 

“ Klaus,” stammered Moritz. ‘“ Old Klaus has sent 
me here. So that nothing will happen to you, Carmen.” 

* Tell Klaus,” said Laurenz, “ to look after his own 
nose, so it don’t grow crooked.” 

“Yes, tell him that,” echoed the girl. 

Moritz Lachner breathed hard. His eyes were 
restlessly searching the ground. He fought with a deci- 
sion, and could not find the words. Then he stepped 
forward and took little Carmen’s hand. 

** Carmen, I have to tell you something.” 

* Tell it to me to-morrow.” 

* No, to-day. Your father is coming to Cologne. 
Maybe he has already arrived. He sings at the 
Guerzenich to-night.” 

She stared at him doubtingly, anxiously. ‘“ Father? 
My father? ” 

* You can depend upon it.” 


THE ADVENTURER 15 


She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Mother 
would have told me.” 

* Maybe he could not announce his arrival in time.” 

Behind them somebody laughed derisively. It was 
Laurenz Terbroich. 

With flashing eyes she turned upon him. 

* You shall not laugh!” and she stamped her feet 
like a wild thing. His laughter stopped. 

* At half-past seven the concert begins. Now it is 
seven,” Moritz said with a joyful face. ‘“ Will we run 
to the Guerzenich? We'll see him as he leaves his car- 
riage.” 

“Oh, you are joking.” 

“Tf you don’t believe me—there-on the post is a 
placard.” 

Reverently they read: “ An Evening of Song, by Dr. 
Joseph Otten. In the Hall of The Guerzenich.” Twice 
and thrice they read. The little girl shivered and 
looked with glowing eyes at the paper. “My 
father ” and silently they ran toward that wonder- 
work of Medieval Gothic art, once the “ Gentry’s Dance 
House,”—the Guerzenich. 

A crowd of onlookers surrounded the entrance: women 
in shawls with children on their arms; small trades- 
men going for their evening drink; workingmen in 
boatmen’s caps and plush slippers. Joseph Otten was 
going to sing! They were proud of their Jupp. He 
was “ ene Koell’sche Jung,” a son of Cologne. 

The children had forced their way into the foremost 
line. The little slim Carmen held on to Moritz Lach- 
ner’s hand. Carriage after carriage stopped. Gen- 
tlemen of proud bearing, in evening clothes, and ladies 
in beautiful gowns, stepped from them and hurried into 





16 THE ADVENTURER 


the entrance. For the onlookers passed criticisms both 
sharp and loud. ‘“ My, but that one has fixed herself 
up swell!” ‘She looks as if it were July. Madame, 
you will catch cold in your bare neck!” ‘“ Look out, 
Mister, you'll crush your head or your stovepipe! ” 

“ That was my father,” said Laurenz Terbroich, as 
the gentleman for whose special benefit the last gibe 
had been given disappeared in the portal, walking very 
erect. 

The clock struck half-past seven. A fine pair of 
bays, drawing a carriage at a smart gait, came to a 
stop. A tall gentleman of some forty years emerged 
with elastic step, gave some instructions to the driver, 
and turned toward the entrance of the Guerzenich. 

** Good-evening, Herr Doktor Otten,” sounded from 
every side. He turned with a laughing face, doffed his 
soft, wide-brimmed hat, and waved his hand. About to 
step into the doorway, he again looked back over his 
shoulder, as if something had attracted his attention 
before. His steel-blue eyes lit upon the children. Re- 
membrance came into his glance, and recognition. A 
flash of joy and a nod on both sides. Then he disap- 
peared in the building. 

“That was my father,” said the little one, trium- 
phantly, to Laurenz Terbroich. And the two ran after 
the crowd, to hear what was being said. 

Moritz Lachner alone remained in front of the 
Guerzenich. His soul had entered the hall with the 
admired man, and he was waiting until the artist should 
bring it back to him. 


CHAPTER II 


In the first story of the Ottens’ house the blinds had 
been drawn since beginning of dusk, and the lights had 
been lit early. Now and then the shadow of a woman 
appeared behind the curtains, remaining a moment, and 
again disappearing. 

Old Klaus had finished smoking his pipe in the door- 
way. While he broke off a piece of the thin clay stem, 
to obtain a fresh mouthpiece, he stepped into the street 
and looked up at the windows above. Shaking his head, 
he filled his pipe, pressed the contents with his thumb, 
and carefully replaced in his trousers pocket the to- 
bacco he had left. Then he bent a leg, scratched a 
match on the tightened covering of his thigh, smacked 
his lips as he drew and blew out the first mouthful of 
smoke from the clay, expectorated, and went into the 
house again, shaking his head. As he closed the door, 
the woman’s shadow appeared for a moment behind the 
illuminated curtain, remained motionless for a second, 
and disappeared. 

From the steeples of the city came the sounds of the 
clocks striking half-past seven. Simultaneously the tall 
timepiece in the dining-room of the house struck once, 
deep and musical. The woman, leaning against the 
pillar of the wide Flemish buffet, raised her head for a 
moment as if something must follow. And already 
there came the high note of the bell of a rococo clock in 
the adjoining room. 

17 


18 THE ADVENTURER 


* Everything goes on in its regular way,” she 
thought, and placed her hands like a ring around her 
forehead, as if she wished to force rebellious thoughts 
to rest. Then she let her arms sink wearily. 

** He is not coming,” she said aloud. “I might as 
well put out the lights now.” 

Her dress rustled, as she stepped across the room. 
Her glance ran down along its folds. It was a white 
brocade that clung closely to the strong, well-built fig- 
ure. Without being décolleté, it left the throat bare. 
A chain of large pink corals hung around her neck and 
fell upon her bosom. It was the only ornament she 
wore. 

Her hand stroked the brocade. 

** How long is it,” ran through her mind, “ since I 
wore this dress for the first time? He would not see 
me in any other. I should wear it every time when he 
came home, always look like a bride.—The dress has re- 
mained as good as new. I have not had to wear it 
often. 

* Oh, not so! ” she reproached herself. ‘ I know him, 
and I am really glad it is as it is.” 

With quiet, even steps she walked through the room. 
Her eyes had recovered the look of the ‘ Hausfrau,” of 
the woman of the home, and her hands sought occupa- 
tion. ‘They moved the crystal vases filled with flowers, 
and the beautiful table china about, until a new har- 
mony appeared in the festive arrangement. From the 
beamed ceiling hung a chandelier with six lights, and 
all were burning. The whole room breathed expecta- 
tion. 

As the woman looked up, a smile passed over her 
features. On the wall hung the picture of a man wear- 


THE ADVENTURER 19 


ing a wide cloak and a broad-brimmed soft hat. He 
looked into the world with laughing eyes. 

She stepped closer to it. She studied it, as if it were 
new to her. 

“One cannot look at the picture without growing 
glad? 0” 

* Deares 

Then she turned again to the table and turned off 
the gaslights. At the last one she hesitated, and her 
arm remained raised. The silk on her body rustled 
softly. 

“ Perhaps he will still come. Then it shall at least 
not be entirely dark in his house.” 

And with another glance at the table, she quietly 
walked into the adjoining room, sat down beside her lit- 
tle sewing-table, and took up a child’s dress that needed 
mending. From the towers sounded eight o’clock, and 
the clocks in the house, in voices low and high, made 
efforts not to be behind their official comrades. 

“Now he has rendered the first song,” said the 
woman, and dropped her work. ‘“‘ Now they are ap- 
plauding, praising him. My God in Heaven,” she in- 
terrupted herself, “ eight o’clock! And Carmen is not 
home yet. How could I forget the child on account of 
the father? ” 

She opened the window and leaned out. ‘The Rhein- 
gasse lay in silence. She listened intently, but only the 
murmur of the river, breaking against the shore, could 
be heard. 

“She has never stayed out as late as this,” she 
thought. “ And just to-day Oh, if only the child 
were here.” 

She remained there a few minutes. Then she closed 


3 








20 THE ADVENTURER 


the window. She shivered and did not know whether 
it was because of the wintry air or a sense of fear. 
* Just to-day. ... I should have kept her at home. 
If only he had come!” Then she remembered Klaus, 
and she heaved a sigh of relief. “‘ He probably has the 
child with him. But now it is time for me to go after 
her.” 

Old Klaus Guelich sat in the little room on the ground 
floor, that had been assigned to him as his quarters, 
speared a last fragment of cheese with the point of his 
pocket-knife, and gazed with dreamy eyes at his 
“Schoppen ” of wine. He searched his memory for 
something, and, being well up in the seventies, he had 
a long life to review, and it took a good while. 

* Yes,”’ he nodded to himself, “ that one should have 
become my wife. She was a fine-looking girl. And she 
liked me as no one else ever did. If, the devil, I only 
could think of her name! ” 

There came a hasty knock, and then a second one. 

“Come in!” he called out aggressively, and stuck 
out his chin. 

“ Good-evening, Klaus. Is the child with you? ” 

* Our Carmche? ” 

* Not here, either? And it is past eight. I hope 
nothing has happened to her. What do you think, 
Klaus? ” 

* J think Carmche is more alive than her mother just 
now.” 

** Are you sure of that?” She placed her hand upon 
the old man’s shoulder, and he felt through the knit 
jacket how the long, slender hand of the woman 
trembled. 

“ Well, well, well,” he tried to reassure her, and 


THE ADVENTURER 21 


arose as quickly as his tired old feet permitted. “ What 
sort of things are these? young woman, young woman! 
Sure that was not our way before! Nerves! You sit 
down in the easy-chair. Like that, real comfortably.” 

She permitted it, as he forced her into the seat. As 
she sat there, in her white robe, her appearance con- 
trasted remarkably with the simple surroundings. 

* Now tell me where you have seen Carmen? ” 

“She ran with Laurenz Terbroich up to the Heu- 
markt, and may be at the Guerzenich. And because I 
don’t like that impudent youngster, Terbroich’s 
Laurenz, I sent Lachner’s Moritz after them. He’ll 
watch out.” And with fatherly solicitude he added: 
“You mustn’t worry, Frau Otten. Nothing will 
happen.” 

“JT am ashamed of myself,” she said suddenly. “I 
must not lose my self-control.” 

The old man looked at her respectfully. 

* And there is many a one who thinks that this life 
is nothing but eating candy, dancing, and kirmess.” 

Tt is much more than that, Klaus.” 

* You have not too much to laugh about.” 

“Oh, yes—only, you others do not know it.” 

“Young woman,” said the old man quietly, “if I 
could go to Holy Communion upon it, you would not 
sit in old Klaus’s little room just now, if you had your 
wish.” 

For a moment there was silence between them. Then 
the woman said, with an attempt at a merry smile, 
* You seem to have listened to me a while ago? Klaus, 
that was the joy of anticipation.” 

“But Herr Joseph did not come,” insisted the old 
man. 


22 THE ADVENTURER 


* He could not, Klaus. Yesterday he sang in Frank- 
fort, and a few days ago at Munich. I received a let- 
ter in which he told me all about it.” 

* The Herr Doktor has been away from Cologne for 
two years. Then a letter is not enough.” 

“Oh, Klaus, he intended to come here before the 
concert if he could have caught the right train. But 
everybody hangs on to him so, and they wish to show 
him their appreciation. I understand that.” 

“T don’t. So help me God. I don’t. He surely 
could have taken off an hour, at least.” 

* He would not disturb the household for so short 
a time.” 

** And the housewife? He would disturb her less that 
way.” 

“ Oh, Klaus, the housewife * 

The old man started. Then he looked into the corner 
of the room. 

“T am his cousin,” she added. ‘“ The fact that my 
name, too, is Otten, does not change matters.” 

“You are his wife. Joseph Otten does not recognize 
cousins.” 

** No,” said she, and a radiance leaped into her eyes. 
* He does not recognize them.” 

The old man looked up in surprise. Then he 
scratched himself behind the ears. “I must have said 
something silly.” 

“No, no. It was right. I am his wife, and I have 
him and Carmen. That is a happy feeling, Klaus, and 
I have that happiness always, always, even if he is 
away for years. Just because of that. He is a 
migratory bird, Klaus; he must go out into the world 
and sing and go farther. Then I have his cares, too, 





THE ADVENTURER 23 


for I could not exist without responsibilities. But 
when he comes home, he brings the happiness of the 
whole wide world with him into the house. What woman 
could say as much? ” 

* You love Jupp very much,” said old Klaus. 

She leaned back, so that he could not see her face. 
The silk tightened. There was strength in this woman’s 
body. 

* And you, Klaus? ” 

“ Didn’t I carry him to the nuns, when he was a little 
tot and had to learn how to sit still? ” 

* He has never learned it, Klaus.” 

“No. And in his prayers he never got past the Pater- 
noster.” 

“That does not hurt some people, Klaus. There are 
people who can do what they like, and it is as if they 
carried a silent prayer with them. Then that which in 
others would look ill becomes beautiful in them.” 

“ They call it a guardian angel. But yow are that 
guardian angel.” 

She only shook her head. 

“That is a matter of the individual. That is the 
secret of our God. We must not ask the reason, 
but just believe. Belief makes happiness. I am 
happy.” 

* No, no,” said the old man doubtingly. “I would 
sooner give Jupp a good talking to. He has always 
been a runaway.” 

* And yet you have loved him.” . 

“Well, yes. And he wasn’t a common runaway. 
He was a fine runaway. Without tommyrot. He 
never lied, even when he was a boy. When he was 
caught, he would say straightforwardly: ‘ Yes, it was 


24 THE ADVENTURER 


this way.’ And then he would laugh, and there was 
no use, everybody else had to laugh, too.” 

The eyes of the woman in the chair shone strangely. 
She saw a reckless, willful boy before her. 

“When he came to us at Koblenz, Klaus, he was even 
then the famous Dr. Otten, of whom all the newspapers 
wrote—not always well. But he didn’t care about 
that. Blockheads must be told a thing a hundred 
times before they understand it. Blessings must be 
forced upon some of them.—He did not have to force 
me. What he said once, I believed.” 

** Such a fine chap,” the old man praised his young 
friend. ‘“ No one could refuse him anything.” 

“You were with him throughout his youth, Klaus.” 

* At first I was employed by old Otten on a coal- 
boat. Later on I was made skipper for the firm. Oh, 
young woman, and when I was in port with my ship 
lying at the Bayernthurm, there were great doings. 
Then Jupp would come with his friends, and I had to 
play the mouth-organ for them, and spin all sorts of 
funny yarns, and, at last, they would turn everything 
topsy-turvy. And if I would get after them, Jupp 
would jump right overboard, dressed as he was—I’d 
think sometimes I’d have a fit—and his best comrade, 
*Drickes, Koch’s Heinrich, who is now a priest and a 
professor, would jump after him—with him in life and 
death! Then, before one could think, both of them 
would climb into the dinghy that was tied to the ship, 
they’d cut the rope, grasp the oars, and away they’d 
go, rowing and singing for dear life that old robber’s 
song, “‘ Ein freies Leben fiihren wir!” Only the third 
one of the bunch, Metardus Terbroich, the fine gentle- 
man of the Ringstrasse, who is so very religious, and 


THE ADVENTURER 25 


squeezes so many millions out of his workingmen—he 
was a mean little scamp. It was usually he who started 
the boys in some devilment, if it was to play a trick on 
me, and then, when trouble would come, and Jupp and 
*Drickes were in the water, where he wouldn’t follow 
them, because he always was a little coward,—he’d see 
me come, bent on giving him 4 good thrashing. Then 
Metardus would look so very innocent, and would say as 
quietly as possible: ‘See, Klaus, there flees troubled 
conscience! I didn’t do it. I’m going away.’ And 
with that he’d be gone.” 

The woman in the seat smiled. She had heard but 
half of the story. She saw the wild boy before her, 
and heard his voice. 

* And didn’t you ever spank Joseph, Klaus? ” 

The old man laughed to himself. “Oh, madam, 
Jupp knew my weak spot. My name is Klaus Guelich. 
And the Guelichs have been in Cologne these many 
hundreds of years. First they were small tradesmen. 
And it was a long, long time ago, that a Nikolaus 
Guelich, a dealer in dry-goods, started a rebellion in 
Cologne, and the rebels plundered the houses of the 
weathy and arrested aldermen and cut their heads off ; 
until the tables were turned and Nikolaus Guelich al- 
lowed himself to be caught. In an open square, which 
from that date has been called the Guelichsplatz, the 
great criminal himself was beheaded. But because he 
had been such a celebrity, the Cologners raised a col- 
umn in his memory on the Guelichsplatz, and placed 
the head that had been cut off, done in bronze, atop 0’ 
the column. And I still have an old book, that is as 
sacred to me as the Bible, and in that you can read: 
‘A column to the everlasting shame of the criminal, 


26 THE ADVENTURER 


with a history of all his dark deeds and crimes, erected 
there.’ That book I fell heir to, and that was lucky, 
for when the Frenchmen came to Cologne, after they 
had cut their own king’s head off, they didn’t want that 
column there. So they threw it down, and that nice 
bronze head, that by right should have remained in the 
family, was taken to Paris. And I was mighty proud 
of the old Nikolaus Guelich,—and Jupp, he knew that. 
And, after each trick, he’d come to me and take me by 
the hand and say: ‘ Now, Klaus, we’ll go to the Gue- 
lichsplatz. There you must tell me about your an- 
cestor. I am so anxious to hear it, I can’t wait.’— 
The little scamp! ” 

* And then he studied in Bonn and Leipzig,” the 
lady took up the conversation after a pause. “ His- 
tory and German literature, and he became Dr. Joseph 
Otten.” 

** Yes, yes—he had ideas.” 

* And everywhere in Germany he held lectures, and 
everywhere they attracted attention, because he would 
try to enliven the souls of the verses through the form 
of their presentation.” 

* T don’t understand that.” 

“ From reciting poetry he went to singing of songs. 
He wanted to reform the old sing-song methods. Then 
he studied anew under the great masters in Frankfort 
and Milan, for he had to know all that was to be 
learned, and he did not stop until he knew all. He 
worked ten times as hard as the others, and. then, 
when he had made his great success, the lazy ones 
and the thoughtless called it—luck! ” 

* And if it were so! He didn’t grow proud. Not 
Jupp! He has remained a real son of Cologne, with his 


THE ADVENTURER 27 


heart in the right place. When old Otten died, and 
the firm was dissolved, he thought of me first. ‘So, 
Klaus,’ said the Herr Doktor, ‘ now you are to be care- 
taker of my house. And when you have nothing to do, 
you can row strangers about on the Rhine.’ No, no, 
you can’t beat my Jupp.” 

The woman in the chair leaned forward. She counted 
the strokes of the clock. ‘ Nine o’clock, Klaus! Now 
I can stand it no longer.” 

The old man took his boatman’s cap from the hook. 
* All right. T’ll go to Lachner’s and look for her.” 

There was a violent pull at the doorbell. Old Klaus 
again hung his cap on the hook. The woman was al- 
ready in the hall. 

* Child Child. * was all she could say, as 
she took the little one by the hand and ran with her 
up the stairway. 

“Mother! Just listen! I have seen father!” 

** Come, come 7 

Upstairs in the room, she knelt before the child and 
took off her little cloak. “To give me such a fright. 
To stay out, without permission ie 

* But I have seen father!” 

* You could not have known that when you ran 
away. I had not told you anything about it.” 

* Yes, but why hadn’t you told me? ” 

“Because father wished to surprise you. Because 
he wanted to see how good you are. Your hands are 
almost frozen, and your cheeks hot as fire. Where in 
the world have you been? ” 

** At the Guerzenich, seeing father,” she insisted. 

* But not until now, child. That was a long while 
ago.” 














28 THE ADVENTURER 


“Then Laurenz Terbroich and I went to the Hohe- 
strasse. Laurenz wanted to show me the beautiful 
stores with their Christmas displays.” 

“My God! In those crowds!” And, suddenly, the 
woman entwined her arms about the tender child-body. 
*“ And didn’t you think of your mother at all, Car- 
men; not once of your mother? ” 

“Well, you hadn’t had any time for me all day 
long.” 

“That is my punishment,” murmured the woman, 
passed her hands over her eyes, and arose. 

“Carmen,” she said quietly, “ you will never do that 
again. Never cause me worry. Are you not my big 
sensible girl, who knows that mother is alone? I will 
not punish you this time; but never do anything again 
of which mother does not know. I would have to suffer 
for it doubly. And now your cocoa quickly, and then 
to bed.” 

When the mother returned from the kitchen after a 
while, carrying a steaming cup, the little one sat, rest- 
ing her arms on the table and dangling her legs. 

“Oh, mother, I was standing away in front, when 
father drove up to the Guerzenich. He recognized 
me.” 

The cup shook and rattled a little as it was being 
placed upon the table. 

“How do you know that he did? ” 

“He nodded at me and laughed.” 

* And—laughed. o¢ 

** Because he was so glad to see me.” 

* And—and, he didn’t speak to you? ” 

* No, mother, he came late as it was. All the peo- 
ple were in the hall ahead of him. A hundred car- 





THE ADVENTURER 29 


riages drove up. ‘The people were dressed as fine as 
if they were going to a wedding.” 

** He came too late,” repeated the woman and drew 
a deep breath. “I knew that he could not have had 
time.” 

** And there were so many people standing in front 
of the Guerzenich, mother, only to see father. And 
when he went in, they all called out: ‘ Good-evening, 
Herr Doktor Otten!’ And then he laughed again.” 

“ He laughed again? Was father so jolly? ‘ Good- 
evening, Herr Doktor Otten,’ they all called out. Then 
you probably were proud? ” 

* But he was the handsomest of them all, too,” said 
the little one, eating the last piece of zwieback. 

* You foolish little thing,” said the woman, and her 
hand stroked the child’s dark curls. Her eyes looked 
far-away, and again they were shining so strangely. ... 

* Mother,” the little one started anew, “but that is 
not true, is it?” 

** What is not true, child? ” 

* What Laurenz said.” 

* And what did Laurenz say? ” 

** He said, and Moritz was there, too: ‘ Is Herr Dok- 
tor Otten really your father?’ ” 

The woman started. Her features became tense. 
She tried to master the awful shock. “ What—is 
that ?—What sort of—conversation do you carry on? ” 

** Laurenz said artists never have real wives, and, 
therefore, no real children.” 

“And then—and then you still played with that 
bad boy—and ran with him to the Hohestrasse? ” 

“ But that was later. First I scratched him and 
pulled his hair.” 


30 THE ADVENTURER 


** And Moritz? ” 

* He helped me.” 

“There you see,” said the woman, mastering herself. 
“There you see. Moritz is older and more sensible. 
He loves his father. And those who love their fathers 
never know anything different. He would be ashamed 
to talk about his father even in a jest. And especially 
about your father. .. .” 

* Mother,” the little one cried, frightened, “I didn’t 
do that at all! And Laurenz was only mad because I 
had said that my father was better than his. Isn’t that 
true, mother? ” 

** Oh, you dear !” the woman exclaimed, grasped 
the little girl’s head with both hands, and pressed it 
against her bosom. 

The little one lay quiet. She felt contented, resting 
against that heaving mother’s breast, which was beat- 
ing and hammering so strangely. And the cool silk 
felt fine against her cheek. 

“ How beautiful you are, mother. Why have you 
made yourself so beautiful? ” 

** Because father is coming.” 

* But then you must make me beautiful, too.” 

“Oh, you dear, vain little thing; I’ll put you to bed 
now.” 

* But will father come to my bed? ” 

* Surely, surely, he will come to your bed.” 

“Then you must let me put on a clean nightgown. 
And put the red bow in my hair.” 

** Will you go to sleep then? ” 

“Tf I can d 

*“T’ll bring it down for you. Run into the kitchen 
and undress. It is warmer there. I'll wash you 








THE ADVENTURER 31 


quickly, very quickly, so that father won’t surprise us. 

“JT must do what she wants to-day,” she quieted 
herself, as she got the new little nightgown in the linen- 
room, and a slight blush came and went in her face; “ I 
am no different myself.” 

Carmen, undressed, stood before a little bath-tub, 
which she had filled with water. She was splashing the 
water on her slender limbs. “ You don’t need to help 
me, mother; I am done already.” 

* T’ll rub you down. You are a reckless little girl! ” 

She covered the shivering little body with a bath 
towel, raised her gown as she knelt upon a rug, and 
rubbed the little one dry. Through the cloth she soon 
felt the warmth of the limbs. Then she threw the 
towel aside, drew the wriggling child close to her, and 
covered her with kisses. 

“I wonder what it is,” shot through her mind, “ that 
makes one love one’s child so much? Is it the child 
itself? Or is it the father ? 

“Now, face about and forward march!” she said, 
fastening the last button of the nightie. 

* But the red bow, mother!” 

* Oh, all right, you shall have the bow.” 

“ Klaus must carry me upstairs.” 

** Child, now you give us a rest. You must not ask 
too much this evening.” 

*“ But if Klaus carries me up, I go to sleep much 
quicker.” 

* Do you promise me that? ” 

* Yes—but I want him to tell me a story, just 
one.” 

She went to the door. ‘ Only, that Joseph may find 
everything in order,” she confessed to herself. And 





32 THE ADVENTURER 


then she called down into the hall: Klaus, Klaus, are 
you still up? ” 

** What is it, young madam? ” came the answer. 

** Klaus, Carmen will let no one but you take her to 
bed.” 

* I’m coming.” 

The old man came up the stairs stiffly. ‘ Where is 
the little lady? ” 

* Here!” called out the little one, and stood at at- 
tention like a soldier. 

“My, oh my!” exclaimed the old man, clapping his 
hands in admiration, “ that can’t be our Carmche, that 
surely is a little angel! ” 

* See, Klaus! Am I beautiful? ” 

“She is a naughty little angel, Klaus, and bothers 
her mother. Take her away quickly.” 

“Well, then, come on!” 

“On your back!” ordered the little one. And the 
old man bent his stiff back with a chuckle, and let her 
mount. Suddenly, however, the little girl turned about, 
and the old man had to move as quickly as he could to 
grasp her legs and prevent her falling. ‘“ Mother! 
Good-night, mother!” She embraced her and kissed 
her rapidly upon the eyes, the mouth, and the silk that 
was tensely drawn over the mother’s bosom. “ You 
dear, dear mother!” And with a shout of delight she 
allowed herself to be carried upstairs. 

** Now tell me a story,” she ordered, as she stretched 
herself in her little bed. 

Old Klaus obediently sat down upon the edge of 
the bed and began: 

“Once upon a time there was a naked little 
angel ¢ 





THE ADVENTURER 33 


“Oh, that is a regular baby story. Shame on you, 
Klaus!” 

, and the little naked angel said to an old man: 
He should be ashamed. And when the good God heard 
that, God said: ‘Oh, the devil.’ ” 

“That is not true. The good God does not men- 
tion the name of the devil.” 

“That may be true ordinarily, but when the good 
God grows angry on account of the naughty things 
that people say and do, then he says the worst that 
there is, and that is the devil.” 

The little one had not waited for the close of the 
pedagogic discourse. She had fallen asleep. 

And downstairs, in her room, stood the lady of 
the house, still excited from the violent caresses of the 
child, but more disturbed by what Carmen had said. 

* She will have forgotten it to-morrow,” she thought. 
** At her age, impressions quickly disappear. But she 
is growing up——”’ 

Through the open door she looked into the dining- 
room, with its festive decoration, and at the picture 
of the man, so free from care. 

The white bridal silk upon her body rustled, as she 
raised her head. ‘‘ Come soon, Joseph xs 








CHAPTER III 


Tue doorbell tinkled softly, as if it had scarcely been 
touched. The sound could not have reached Klaus in 
the room upstairs, and so as not to awaken the child 
by calling the old man, Frau Maria Otten went herself 
to open the door. With his cap in his hand, Moritz 
Lachner waited outside. 

* Well, Moritz, so late? ” 

* The Herr Doktor sends me——” 

** We will go upstairs,” she said. “It is cold at the 
front door.” And she led the way. A message from 
Joseph she would not receive carelessly at the door. 

Moritz Lachner followed her respectfully. He felt 
the warmest of admiration for the mother of Carmen, 
as he walked behind the stately woman, to whom the 
white brocade gave a holiday appearance. Thus he 
had adored his own mother, who, while she lived, had 
sat day in and day out, in the only bright room in 
their house that had not been taken up by the goods 
of his father’s business, working away at some em- 
broidery, and only looking up quickly and joyfully 
when her son appeared in the door. Since she had died, 
like a trembling house-plant, his passionate adoration 
for womanhood had grown out toward the quiet, self- 
reliant woman in Joseph Otten’s house. All the more 
because it was Joseph Otten’s house, for all that was 
positive, free, and brave, appealed to his tender, timid 
soul. 

34 


THE ADVENTURER 35 


“ The Herr Doktor has given you a message? ” asked 
Frau Maria, and sat down in her working-chair. “ Did 
you hear the concert, Moritz? ” 

“J waited outside until it was over.” 

“Two hours in the cold! You are an enthusiast, 
Moritz!” 

The boy was pleased by her friendly tone. He 
blushed and twisted his cap. 

“The Herr Doktor came a few minutes after the 
others. Herr Terbroich was with him, and Herr Pro- 
fessor Koch. When he saw me, he called me. ‘ Surely, 
there is Lachner’s Moritz,’ he said, and then he asked 
me if I would do him a favor, and run over here and tell 
you that he would be here in about an hour. That he 
had to go to the Domhotel for a moment. And if I 
would bring him the key to the house.” 

Frau Maria had listened quietly. She took the 
bunch of keys from the table and loosened the house 
key from the ring. 

“It was nice of you, Moritz, to do all this. Wait, 
you shall have a glass of port wine; that will warm you 
again.” 

“ Really, it was no trouble,” stammered the boy; 
* really, no.” 

He grew hot as fire as he drank the wine. But he 
knew that it was not from the drink. He bowed, 
thanked her, and walked to the door, carrying the 
key and feeling as if the key to the hearts of these 
people had been given into his keeping. 

She held her hand out to the boy, and said 
pleasantly: “Give my regards to the Herr Dok- 
tor.” 

Well, well!” said Frau Maria, as she heard the 


36 THE ADVENTURER 


slamming of the outer door. “ And now he permits 
them to lead him astray. An hour... and he’ll keep 
his promise. But...” She shook her head. “ But 
they will not let go of him in an hour, they will simply 
come home with him. I know that from of old.” She 
frowned, but it was only for a second. Then she shook 
off the momentary feeling of annoyance, “It is only 
the joy of seeing him again. The others want their 
share, too. Joseph belongs to many.” 

“ Many ? 3° 

Now she laughed silently to herself. 

* Let them all come.” 

The housewife stirred within her. She went into 
the dining-room and inspected the table. Two covers 
were laid. “TI will give up my own place and lay an- 
other cover. Joseph, Terbroich—and Professor Koch.” 
She made the arrangements and was glad to see that 
there were enough of the delicacies. 

“These Cologners are epicures.” 

In the kitchen she placed a few more bottles on the 
ice. Then she listened. Old Klaus was coming down 
the stairs. 

“ Did it take so long? ” she asked sympathizingly. 

“Oh, she slept in a minute,” reported the old man, 
yawning, and covering his mouth with the back of his 
hand, “but sleep is contagious, and I nodded a bit, 
too.” 

“Go to bed quickly, Klaus. The master has sent 
for the housekey.” 

“That was a sensible thing,” praised Klaus, with 
the egotism of advanced age. “ Two years—or two 
years and one day—it makes no difference, when you see 
each other again. Good-night, and sleep well, madam.” 





THE ADVENTURER 37 


And he stepped heavily down the stairs and sought his 
couch, satisfied with the world. 

“* Now everybody is asleep,” Frau Maria thought, 
when she sat again at her little working-table. “I 
alone am awake in the house. And thus he will find me 
as he left me, the guardian of his home.” 

Now and then she heard the steps of a late passer- 
by from the Rheingasse, then all became silent. But 
the woman at the worktable did not permit the silence 
to lure her into reveries. She had spread the school- 
dress of the little girl upon her lap and sewed on the 
loosened bows. 

Now she listened. . . . Steps approached from the 
Heumarkt. Men’s voices sounded in the air. A laugh 
came from the distance. Then she folded up the child’s 
dress and rose. And all at once a strange timidity 
overcame her, that made her look aimlessly about, with 
big, timid eyes, so that, for a moment, there was a 
suggestion of tears in her smile and she felt as if she 
were choking. Downstairs a key turned in a lock. 
Steps on the stairs. One ahead of the others in long 
bounds. The door of her room opened and closed at 
once. 

* Joseph ” she cried out. 

He held her tightly. The large soft hat had fallen 
from his head, the cloak had slipped from his shoul- 
ders. The recklessness of victory disappeared. A 
strong emotion had taken hold of the man. And she 
pressed her head against his arm, and felt it as a deliv- 
erance that the tears and smiles had both been released 
by that one cry: “ Joseph! ” 

* Are you very angry? ” he asked. “ Did you blame 
me?” 





38 THE ADVENTURER 


She raised her head to speak. 

“Oh, God!” he mumbled, and pressed his lips upon 
hers. 

There was a knock on the door. They did not hear 
it. It was repeated, louder. 

* Shall I throw them out, Maria?” 

“ Oh, you !? she shook her head. 

* Well, yes ! IT have brought them along. You 
can come in!” he called out and drew his watch, “ for 
half an.hour. Then I demand rest.” 

“That is not enough,” replied Metardus Terbroich, 
standing at the threshold. “ You can spare us an 
hour.” 

Joseph Otten looked at Maria. She nodded. 

“Well, then, an hour! But then [’ll assert my do- 
mestic rights, you sticking-plaster 4g 

“I beg your pardon, Frau Otten,” said the second 
gentleman, and shook the hand that was held out to him. 
*T would not have been so impolite as to bring unrest 
into your home at so late an hour, but as Metardus 
would not be denied, I thought—go along and practice 
Christian duty in getting him home at a given time.” 

** Good-evening, your reverence.” 

“ Really, Frau Otten, that should be superfluous be- 
tween us.” 

* Well, then, good-evening, Herr Professor. And 
good-evening, Herr Terbroich.” 

** Good-evening, Frau Otten. And as to what Hein- 
rich Koch was saying there about Christian duty, and 
about bringing one home—yes, if I were not absolutely 
convinced that a reverend gentleman could not tell an 
untruth a 

Joseph Otten ran his hands through his hair, and 














THE ADVENTURER 39 


Frau Maria opened the door leading to the dining- 
room. | 

**Won’t you step in, gentlemen? You see, I counted 
upon your coming.” 

Metardus Terbroich stroked his fashionable mustache 
and pointed beard. ‘“ Well, well! Counted upon our 
coming? Too much kindness, Frau Otten.” And he 
bowed. 

* You really seem to take that as a compliment, that 
the esteemed lady of the house has figured upon your 
coming, my dear Metardus,” Koch laughed merrily. 
** Shouldn’t she, instead, have ignored you? ” 

* Do you think so?—The church, of course, has 
free entrance at every board.” 

* At every board?—I will, then, invite myself to 
dinner with you to-morrow.—Do you see how he changes 
color? ” 

Joseph Otten had walked through the rooms. He 
felt at home at once, and he thanked Maria for it. A 
pleasant sensation ran through him, a feeling of being 
in a safe port. With her! Once again with her! No 
—at last again with her He turned around. 
“Come to the table!” he called out. “The hour 
passes, and I will not send you home without bread 
and salt. What! There are only three covers ” 

“ T have already eaten with the child,” she whispered. 

* And wish to leave us alone now?” He understood 
her. 

Tt will not be for long,” his look told her. “ For- 
give me, I was stupid!” And this silent confession 
pleased her. 

** Good-evening, gentlemen.” 

* What, are you going to leave us? ” 








40 THE ADVENTURER 


* T’ll return when you have eaten. I should like to 
inspect Carmen’s school work.” 

“T can’t blame you, Frau Otten. It requires a stout 
heart to see our good Metardus at work with knife 
and fork.” 

Joseph Otten had filled the glasses. He raised his 
glass to Maria without a word, and emptied it in one 
thirsty draught.—The gentlemen were alone. 

“Reverend Heinrich,” said Terbroich pointedly, 
** you could spare your jokes before a lady.” He held 
a goose-liver patty close before his eyes and took half. 

“My dear Metardus,” the priest said mildly, “ you 
overlook that you are the author of the poorest joke 
of them all.” 

** I—how so?” 

* Simply through your presence here.” 

Terbroich wanted to answer heatedly, changed his 
mind, however, and found the patty delicious. ‘* With- 
out hurting the feelings of the reverend Professor, I 
beg of you a glass of Rauenthaler. Ah! That is a 
wine that has bouquet and flavor. Worthy to be drunk 
to Cologne’s victorious son. To our sacred boyhood 
friendship, that shall remain true forever! To the joy 
of having him, our best one, amongst us again, to bask 
in his glory. Prosit!” 

** Man,” Koch said admiringly, “ you do understand 
that. If only your visits were as short as your toasts.” 

** Did I ever once trouble you? ” 

* Once? Oh, you dear innocence from the country. 
Only twice you came to me in Rome.” 

“Yes, your moorings are fast,” laughed Otten. 
“But J may sing in Paris, or in London, in Berlin, 
Brussels, or Milan—it is all the same; if Metardus 


THE ADVENTURER 41 


comes there on a business trip, he invariably lodges 
with me. ‘ What do you want with two hotel rooms?’ 
he will say ; and his train always leaves an hour ahead of 
mine.” 

** But, on the other hand, he employs the cheapest 
traveling salesmen,” Koch said approvingly. ‘“ Once 
one of his young men—well, I am no longer a father- 
confessor—told me all about it privately. ‘We may 
be ever so saving, Herr Terbroich has still fewer ex- 
penses than we when he travels.’ ‘ My son,’ I said, ‘I 
will reveal the secret to you. Secure for yourself in 
each city a hospitable friend, never allow yourself to 
be invited, but always invite yourself; hear only the 
** How-do-you-do,” and never the “ Good-by,” and—in 
return, keep your thumb tightly upon your pocket- 
book. Then you will become a rich merchant, a sec- 
ond Metardus.’ ” 

** My dear Heinrich,” said Terbroich, reaching out 
for the caviare, “I will not tread on any of your 
corns, but you display the envy of a reverend gentle- 
man who lacks good acquaintances.” 

“IT have no good acquaintances,” said Koch. “I 
have friends. Prost, Joseph, old brother in arms! 
To-day you have sung—no, you have awakened songs 
to life in such a way that my heart is still astir, 
and that even now I pardon Metardus’ way of 
living.” 

* Prost, Heinrich, that makes me proud.” 

“ Well, a few of them criticised, too,” Terbroich re- 
ported. “ They said that it was not singing, but reci- 
tation. But I told them, ‘ That is modern art, ladies 
and gentlemen, the art that is being recognized in the 
great world. And even the ladies of the highest aristoc- 


42 THE ADVENTURER 


racy are on their knees before my friend, Joseph 
Otten.’ ” 

“That, probably, impressed you more than my 
singing.” 

* To tell the truth, yes. It must be a great feeling 
of satisfaction to know, ‘I have only to cast the glove.’ 
Prost, Joseph! Let me fence in your shadow.” 

Heinrich Koch turned his broad back on Terbroich. 
He stroked his smooth-shaven chin and _ looked 
thoughtful. 

“ When you sang ‘ The Grenadiers ’ it seemed to me 
as if I could see them, marching before me with 
bandaged wounds and bleeding hearts. And with them 
an entire epoch. It grew and grew and became real. 
And how you sang ‘ The Pilgrimage to Kevelaer’! In 
spite of my ordination, I am not as pious as Metardus. 
But when you sang that ‘ Pi'grimage,’ I walked in the 
midst of the procession, and piously I, too, sang, 
‘ Praised be thou, Maria.’ ” 

Otten grasped the hand of the priest. “ We still 
understand each other.” 

* And always will, Joseph.” 

Terbroich had become a little tipsy. “ Tell us, Jo- 
seph, some of your experiences. How many times have 
you sung that ‘ Praised be thou, Maria ’?—in a worldly 
sense, of course. Everything at its proper time, and 
here we are alone.” 

With shining eyes Otten looked across the table. 
“Oh, yes, life is beautiful. Wonderful the flight into 
the world and blessed the homecoming. What lies be- 
tween is no concern of yours.” 

“ Then tell us of your blessed homecoming.” 

*T even begrudge you that last drink.” 


THE ADVENTURER 43 


“Yes, so that you may sing again, ‘ Praised be 
thou, Maria.’ In every city, in every city, even in 
Cologne. Joseph, you have good taste.” 

Joseph Otten arose. “ The only thing about you that 
always interests me in your low-mindedness.” 

Frau Maria had entered the room. ‘“ Frau Otten,” 
Terbroich called out, “ you two are well off. Separa- 
tion and honeymoon, honeymoon and separation! That 
keeps one young and new!” 

“The gentlemen wish to say good-night, Maria,” 
said Otten without a quiver in his face. ‘ Metardus is 
already in the farewell mood. Heinrich, will you be 
kind enough to take him home? I thank you, and 
know how to appreciate it. I am as happily tired as I 
used to be when I was a boy.” 

He had escorted his guests to the door and returned. 
Slowly, step after step, as if to collect his thoughts 
for the real ‘ Wiedersehen ” with the woman who had 
waited up there for him for two years, as if he must 
now bring home to her—and to her alone—the one she 
had been waiting for. 

She stood in the room and looked toward him. He, 
too, stood and took in the picture with a glance. Each 
looked into the features of the other, searching for 
memories and their promises. 

Joseph Otten’s chest expanded. He raised his hands 
and took a step forward. Then she had reached him 
and placed her hands into his. With their brows al- 
most meeting, they looked into each other’s eyes, and 
each saw that the other’s lips were quivering. 

“You kiss me first,” he whispered; “ that is like a 
pardoning of all sins.” 

Then she took her hands from his and, placing them 


44 THE ADVENTURER 


on his head, kissed him long and tenderly on the mouth. 

** Now you are at home, Joseph.” 

“JT thank you,” he said, deeply touched. “ You 
again make it so easy for me.” 

“TI only recognize you, Joseph.” 

* But this recognition grows painful to you with 
repetition.” 

* Whoever has greater happiness than others, must 
be able to bear greater pain than they.” 

“Ts it really great happiness for you? Such a 
worthless man as I? ” 

“Yes!” she answered emphatically. “Yes! yes! 
Do not doubt it. And now you are here——” 

He took a step backward. 

He held her at arm’s length and looked at her in 
astonishment. Her tall, full figure, the white neck, 
and the dark head; the serious forehead and the happy 
smile and eyes. 

** Have you grown taller, Maria? ” 

** No, no.” 

* But more beautiful, even more beautiful.” 

She shook her head. “It only seems that way to 
you, it is the gown.” 

“The gown Oh, see!—the gown. You remem- 
ber everything, even trifles, if they give me joy.” 

* Your joy is no small matter to me.” 

*“* How fine it makes one feel to look at you 

* Not like that ig 

“ Yes, like that!” 

She could scarcely breathe, so tightly he had drawn 
her to his bosom. But she did not stir. She lay still, 
as if she had lain there like that every evening. She 
closed her eyes as he caressed her. 





99 








THE ADVENTURER 45 


* Are you tired? ” he asked. 

She smilingly shook her head. “ But you must be 
tired. The long trip, the concert, the joy 

** T will tell you all about it.” 

“To-morrow. Some other time; you are tired 
now.” 

** Oh, dear! Such a happy tired feeling!” 

With his arm about her waist he walked with her 
through the room and into the adjoining one. 

“Here you sat and waited for me,” he said, standing 
before her easy-chair. “ How often I have seen you sit- 
ting there, when I thought of home. I always wanted 
to pause, to take a vacation, and spend it here with 
you. But the rebellious blood drove me into the cur- 
rent, the eddies again—— Sit down,” he begged, 
drawing the chair close, “as you have sat all these 
days. You shall feel that it is different to-day. No, 
no, I will lie down upon the rug and rest my head 
in your dear lap. Why do I have this joy so 
rarely ? I myself am my own worst enemy.” 

She bent down to him and laid her cool hand mer 
his eyes. 

* Joseph, listen to me. If you accuse scat to 
comfort me—it is really not necessary. I have been 
yours now these twelve years. Can you think that dur- 
ing all that time I have remained so small that I could 
not see the difference between you and other men? I 
went with seeing eyes into my—yes, into my happi- 
ness. For if I considey everything, it is my happiness, 
indeed. I could never have loved any man but you. 
Well, all right, if you must hear it; other men may 
have more virtues than you—what they call virtues. 
But, then, they are not—Joseph Otten. You see, I un- 








46 THE ADVENTURER 


derstand. And because you are Joseph Otten, I must 
love—your faults as well.” 

“TI am afraid but little remains if you count out the 
faults, Maria.” 

“Let that be my care. People who have a mission 
cannot be everyday people, and to that I hold when the 
faults seem to loom up big. You belong to the world.” 

“With my art! But not with my being. But that 
is just it.” 

* As if you could separate those.” 

*T cannot, Maria. And those who are about me out- 
side, they do not want it at all.” 

“ For all that, I remain what I am, Joseph.” 

“What do you remain? The port for the storm- 
tossed vessel. The sickroom for the worn-out soldier.” 

“If there are to be soldiers, there must be nurses, 
too.” 

** Soldiers and artists should bind no women to them- 
selves.” 

“Yes, they should, Joseph. They must know of a 
port where their wounds can heal, to—gather new 
strength for new voyages.” 

“Then you don’t believe that I will stay here!” 

“No, Joseph,” she said, looking with a brave smile 
into his darkened features. ‘‘ Now, while you are tired, 
I believe you have the honest desire to stay. But some 
day—yes, some day I shall have to send you away my- 
self in order to—keep you.” 

“ Am I like that? ” Otten said, with bitter sarcasm. 

* Thank God you are like that, Joseph.” 

* And it is all the same to you, that you give so 
much more than I? That I spend the wealth that you 
give me, to take along, out there in the world, that I 


THE ADVENTURER 47 





waste it in hilarity Oh, I don’t want to think with 
whom!” 

“ Only, come home often. So that I can prove to 
you that I have much more wealth.” 

Joseph Otten did not stir. He only pressed his head 
deeper into her lap. “ Homecoming!” he thought. 
“Now, this is, indeed, homecoming!” And then he 
began to give voice to his thoughts. “ Yes, really the 
port. So long as the ship floats upon the waves, one 
dreams of the laughing distance and beckoning ad- 
ventures ; forgetting what is astern, welcoming what is 
ahead. And the vessel floats merrily about in all climes, 
in all waters, always joyous, driven by every breeze, 
until, one day, its speed grows less, and in a calm it is 
found that during those jolly travels throughout the 
world, all sorts of rank marine growths have befouled 
the ship’s bottom, and are lessening its speed and use- 
fulness. ‘Oho!’ says the captain, ‘ where is the best 
harbor? The vessel must be docked.’ And again he 
thinks of the home port. If that is not good for any 
other purpose, it is the best of all for making the re- 
pairs the old tub needs, for scraping and cleaning and 
patching. For home is like a mother, and mothers 
have the proper feeling for cleanliness. So here I am, 
Maria.” 

She stroked his hair this way and that. He was 
with her again. 

“Tt is growing gray, Maria.” 

“Tt is as blond and self-willed as ever.” 

“No, no, the gray hairs are multiplying lately. 
And that reminds me that I am tired.” 

She raised his head from her lap. Like a child the 
big man allowed her to do it. “ Come, Joseph!” 


48 THE ADVENTURER 


** Maria, that I should have brought those two to the 
house! I will not speak of Heinrich Koch. He came 
to help me, because I could not shake off Terbroich. 
He had fastened to the ship’s bottom just before it made 
the port. And that I should not have seen you before 
the concert! In Frankfort they would not let go of 
me, and once again I enjoyed being held back. Thus, 
you see, I have grown more undisciplined. And then 
I was glad in the anticipation that on my return you 
should behold me first upon the platform. But that— 
that you must pardon especially. It was humiliating 
to think that I would have to win you anew. Humili- 
ating for you.” 

“Did you recognize the little one, Joseph? ” 

“Carmen?” He jumped up. “ You—you had sent 
her? ” 

“She had run there without permission. I have 
probably been too much woman and not enough mother 
to-day. So she was not looked after.” 

“* She stood in front, in the first row. As I ran past 
—TI had to hurry— it seemed to me as if I had caught a 
ray of sunshine. Something so warm shot through my 
blood and forced me to look around again, and there 
stood my child!” 

** Will we go to her? ” 

He drew a deep breath. “ Yes,” he said softly, and 
laughed to himself. ‘ She grows more beautiful all the 
time.” 

Carefully they tiptoed up the stairs. Frau Maria 
had put out the lights, and carried only the hall lamp. 
He had placed his arm about her waist, and thus they 
stepped up to the bed of the sleeping child. 


THE ADVENTURER 49 


“She has almost become a young lady,” he said 
after a while. 

“She is not easy to bring up,” she replied, “ but 
she has blood and spirit.” 

“‘ Strange how closely she resembles you. The hair, 
the features. That pleases me most.” 

* She resembles me only when she is resting. When 
she becomes lively and begins to talk, she resembles you 
in a way that has sometimes startled me.” 

** Shocked you? ” 

“Pst ! She moves. The light strikes her eyes.” 
She placed the lamp upon the table and returned. To 
the right the father stood, stooping over the child’s 
bed, to the left the mother. Their breath came and 
went in unison. 

* Do you want to see how tall she has grown? ” Frau 
Maria whispered. 

He nodded. She drew the covering aside. The lit- 
tle one folded her arms behind her head, moved a little, 
groped with her feet, and slept on. The nightgown had 
rolled up, and long and slender the white limbs lay 
extended. 

Joseph Otten’s lips moved. “Is there anything 
more touching? ” 

** I will pray every day that she will remain so touch- 
ing,” Frau Maria answered softly. 

* Do you fear on her account? I asked you a while 
ago.” 

** Not yet, and yet—I do. She is ahead of her years, 
and has a liking for the extraordinary.” 

“My daughter ” said Joseph Otten, and there 
was a peculiar sound of emotion in his voice. Then 
he stooped quickly and pressed a kiss on each of the 








50 THE ADVENTURER 


little legs. Frau Maria softly covered up the little 
sleeper. 

* Maria,” Otten began, and stopped short. 

** Speak, Joseph.” 

“The longer you are mine, Maria, the more I have 
to thank you. The account grows from year to year. 
You do not wish me to speak of it. Because we were 
already adults when we began life’s walk together, and 
each of us knew what the other would bring. There- 
fore, I will not speak of it. But if you wish to earn 
a gratitude that surpasses all, Maria, then watch over 
her, Maria. And should I ever be shipwrecked, save 
none but the child.” 

“As far as I am concerned, nothing shall remain 
undone, Joseph. I promise you that.” 

“Have you any desire? I would like to do some- 
thing especially kind and loving for you, at this hour, 
more than ever. Have you a wish? ” 

She looked at him, shook her head, and embraced him. 

* You weep eS 

She raised her face and showed him her eyes. 

“ Those dear, longing woman’s eyes,” he said. “ I'll 
learn again to read in them.” 

“Do that, Joseph.” She took the light and waited. 

“Ts our bedroom still up here? ” 

“Everything has remained in its accustomed place. 
Even old Klaus.” 

* Old—Klaus? He is still faithful? And I?” 

“ Just remain true to yourself, Joseph. And we 
here—we will remain so to you.” 

“ Oh, how beautiful it is to be at home!” 

She silently took his hand and, as if in a dream, they 
walked together to their common room. 





CHAPTER IV 





* CARMEN ! Carmen!” 

Frau Marie, in a soft morning-robe, laughingly shook 
the child. 

** Sleepyhead, don’t you want to get up at all to-day? 
Not in a hurry to get to school? And father? Don’t 
you want to say good-morning to father? He will have 
a nice opinion of his daughter.” 

The little girl sat up in bed. “ Father?” Sur- 
prisedly she rubbed her eyes, thought for a second, 
threw back the covering, and leaped from the bed. 
“Father is here?” she shouted joyfully. ‘ Quickly, 
mother, take me to him! ” 

‘First the sleep must be washed out of your eyes, 
your hair must be combed, and you must be dressed 
completely. Don’t you want father to see how much 
of a young lady his daughter has grown to be? ” 

“Oh, mother, that takes so long. Will you help me 
to hurry? ” 

And then there was a duet of whispering and laugh- 
ter in the gable room, as if Frau Maria had become a 
child again overnight. A quarter of an hour later, 
they stood in the door of the living-room, both scarcely 
able to suppress their excitement. Joseph Otten sat in 
the corner of the sofa with the morning paper in his 
hand. The breakfast table was set, and the flowers 
in the center added a cheerful touch of color. 

“ Father,” said the little one timidly. And then, with 
a shout of joy, “ Father!” 

51 


52 THE ADVENTURER 


She raced to the sofa. With a bound she was in his 
lap, crumpling his paper, showering kisses on his face, 
shouting into his ears, and springing out of one of his 
arms into the other, and back again. And he lifted 
her up high, and swung her about, until the child’s 
long legs waved wildly in a semicircle. “ You wild little 
thing! Yes, you are alive, I can feel that!” Frau 
Maria had remained standing in the doorway, and was 
calling out into the uproar words which no one under- 
stood. Then he handed the child to her and fell back 
into the sofa corner with a sigh of satisfaction. “ Now, 
come, all of you. Now to breakfast.” 

The little girl demanded to sit beside her father. 
“That is mother’s place,” the father defended the 
right of the housewife. But Frau Maria took her 
daughter’s part. “To-day is Carmen’s turn.” And 
she retired quickly to bring in the coffee from the 
kitchen. 

“Why didn’t you come yesterday morning, father? 
To-day I have to be in school all day.” 

“JT beg your pardon most humbly, miss, for such 
neglect. But on that account, I am going to stay a 
long while with you this time. If mother will allow 
me.” 

“Oh, mother!” the little girl prattled, casting a 
rapid glance at Frau Maria. ‘“ You couldn’t please her 
better. Then she won’t have to be alone all the time 
when I am in school.” 

* Why doesn’t she go out walking? ” 

** Without one’s husband, a lady can’t go out walk- 
ing.” 

* But now you drink your coffee, Carmen,” Frau 
Maria admonished. “Within five minutes you must 


THE ADVENTURER 53 


be on your way to school. You can talk more at 
noon.” 

The little girl looked sideways at her father, secretly 
stroked his sleeve, and quickly finished her break- 
fast. In coat and fur cap, swinging her schoolbag on 
her arm, she once more stormily hugged and kissed — 
her parents. Frau Maria mildly rebuked her: “ Quiet, 
Carmen, do be quiet!” 

“ Goodness!” said the little one. “I have you to- 
gether so seldom.” Then she ran away. 

Otten had stepped to the window, opened it, and 
leaned out. His looks followed the child until she dis- 
appeared in the side streets. When he closed the win- 
dow and returned to his seat, the seriousness of thought 
rested on his brow. 

For a time he sat quietly in his sofa corner, folding 
and smoothing the newspaper, his brows drawn up. He 
was humming. 

“ The little one has grown up,” he said suddenly. 

Frau Maria nodded. 

** And she does not seem to be dull, either,” he con- 
tinued. ‘She now reaches the age of investigation, in 
which children discuss the existence or the non-existence 
of the stork. Who knows, perhaps she is even further 
than that.” He waited. ‘“ Maria.” She looked at 
him. ‘ What do you think about it, Maria? ” 

“It is as you say, Joseph.” 

“Hm. Well, if is so... and some day she will 
come with questions which her mother would like to 
answer and will not be able to. And that will cause 
mother some sad hours, as I know her, and for the 
child it will mean unhealthy thoughts. And one does 
not permit people whom one loves to suffer.” 


54 THE ADVENTURER 


Through the silence of the room there came and 
went the breath of the woman. 

“Yes, Maria, I have now reached the Swabian age, 
when one should have his right sense, if that is ever to 
be. I cannot disown my forty-five years, though I may 
succeed in hiding them from the world.” He played 
with the fringe of the table-cover. ‘ What do you 
think about it? ” 

* About—what? ” she asked forcedly. Her heart 
beat in her throat. He pulled at the fringes. A 
pause of but seconds, yet they seemed an eternity. “ In 
reality I ought to have a guardian.” He attempted to 
jest. “ But before it comes to that I had better con- 
sign myself into safe hands. You would not let me 
feel the guardianship, Maria.” 

He was still tracing the pattern of the tablecloth, 
and did not notice that her hands trembled in her lap. 

“A child has a right to protection. It must not 
feel any difference between itself and others, or it 
receives a wound for life. When one is young, and 
one’s passion leaps over church and steeple, one does 
not realize that. One is glad that one has executed the 
leap over conventionality and Philistinism with grace. 
But such elasticity is denied to children. They have 
to pay the costs some day. If I could imagine that 
anybody would dare to look at Carmen slightingly 
Oh, well, never! That will never happen. Shall we ar- 
range our affairs formally?” 

Now he looked up, and the furtive shyness turned 
suddenly to surprise. ‘“ Maria!” 

She sat erect beside him upon the sofa. The hands 
in her lap had become quiet. Silently she looked at 
him. But that tearful look in the woman’s eyes spoke. 





THE ADVENTURER -/ 45 


“You see, Joseph, I have always been proud of you, 
even if at times it has meant struggles in my heart. 
But to-day I know that my pride in you was justified. 
That is happiness ” 

* You—weep? ” 

But she could not yet find words. 

Then realization gripped the man. A realization 
of all that a woman’s love can give. And that it is 
the greatest of love that gives amidst silent pains, 
and that gives and gives again. “I have never seen 
the halo of the Madonna about a woman,” he said softly, 
and laid his hand upon her hair. “ But it exists. My 
wife has it. Then even a man like me can look bravely 
at the past and the future.” 

“ Joseph ” Tt was all she said. But the sound 
of it touched his heart. With tenderest hands he 
stroked her face, drew it toward him, and kissed the 
tears from her cheeks. 

** Now let us drop sentiment, and talk business. My 
talent gravitates more toward the anacreontic side. 
Look up! Are your papers in order? Yes or no?” 

“<< Yes.” 

** And your heart? ” 

* That also.” 

** Then wrap both of them up in the Cologne Gazette, 
so that I can carry them to the Marriage Court. The 
official will rejoice! Yes, yes, the morals of the bour- 
geois Bo 

Now life came back to her. The blood rushed to 
her cheeks, the words tumbled over one another in her 
joy. Past and present came to her in joyful con- 
fusion. 

“That you could feel that with me! Last night— 











56 THE ADVENTURER 


do you remember?—you asked me, if I had any desire. 
I did have a wish. But I could not have expressed it. 
There are thoughts that one can have, but the other 
must speak them, else they lose their blessing. Do you 
understand that, Joseph? Else I should have always 
had the feeling: ‘I forced him to do it.’ And it was 
urgent, Joseph, I can tell you now. The child’s at- 
tention had been attracted, and she has more imagina- 
tion than I like at times. The child! Our Carmen! 
It is twelve years since you came to Koblenz. I know 
the date and the hour. My parents had been dead a 
year, and I did not know which way to turn. After 
we had discussed matters for a few days Oh, no, 
we did not discuss matters at all, we talked of art and 
of life, of sun, moon, and stars—then you took me with 
you to travel, with you into the blossoming spring 
world. By your side! How I thank you for that to 
this day! Then I gathered more joy than I can con- 
sume in all my life. And, two years later, when our 
Carmen came, you brought me here into the old family 
house of the Ottens, of which my parents had told me 
stories when I was but a child. Of everything I could 
speak with you, with everything I could speak of you. 
Everything told me of you. And I have looked after 
everything and cared for everything, so that it re- 
mained as it was, and where it was, when you were a 
boy, so that you could praise the keeper of your 
house. And now comes the crowning! ” 

With smiling surprise Otten had followed the ex- 
cited flow of words of her whose equanimity and even 
temper he had so often admired. 

“Dearest, dearest, you are acting as if I placed 
you upon a royal throne.” 





THE ADVENTURER 57 


* You are doing it.” 

*‘ With this written and sealed declaration? Oh, you 
modern woman. For more than a decade she does not 
breathe a syllable upon the subject, and I imagine I 
have in her the very essence of the New Woman, and 
for more than a decade—I am now sure that it has not 
been a day less—she carries about with her in her 
innermost heart the real old-fashioned desire to be——” 

* As every one, even the most modern woman, carries 
that desire about with her. No woman can tear her- 
self away from that entirely. Even the most free- 
thinking and broadest-minded, the most emancipated, 
silently hope, even if it be after years and years. And 
if we do without, then we do so, in order not to 
lose.” . 

“One might grow old as Methuselah, and study 
woman in the four quarters of the globe, and you would 
still give him riddles to solve.” 

** Because you men always seek to solve riddles.” 

** Have you any more for me to solve? ” 

* No, Joseph, that was the only one.” 

* Well, then, you dear open soul, go and get the pa- 
pers. You probably will not have to search for them 
long.” 

She came back blushing. Otten looked at her and 
shook his head. “ Such a stately woman, and still such 
a dear little child! ” 

Then she put her arms around his neck and kissed 
him. 

An hour later Otten left the house. At the front 
door he met old Klaus, in his knit jacket, squinting at 
the winter sun, and accompanying this activity by 
smoking his long-stemmed clay pipe. 


58 THE ADVENTURER 


“Did you really come home, you world-roamer? ” 
he greeted the master of the house and shook his hand. 
“IT wanted to have a Mass read for your soul, but the 
Herr Pastor said: ‘ This soul does not seem to me to be 
quite clean.’ ” 

“The Herr Pastor meant your own soul, you old 
scamp. Well, and apart from that? Still well and 
active? ” 

*T can’t go to the inn any more.” 

“Is it as bad as all that? Do the feet refuse? ” 

* The feet are all right, but I have no money.” 

* That is a serious case. I’d go and see the doctor.” 

*T am just seeing the doctor.” 

* Oh, I see!” Otten laughed. ‘‘ And you would like 
to take the prescription at once to the drugstore your- 
self? ” 

“ Sure, Herr Doktor. And I bring the best wishes 
from the Herr Doktor, who will renew the prescription 
whenever it is necessary. Did I understand cor- 
rectly? ” 

Otten took something from his pocket. “ Here, 
Klaus, on account. I have something to attend to, and 
I am superstitious. Therefore you shall drink to my 
health the entire morning through. And another thing. 
In confidence, and shake hands on it. Do you happen 
to know the way to the Marriage Court? ” 

* Jupp,” said old Klaus seriously, “I go with you. 
You’d never find it alone in all your life.” 

It was noon when Joseph Otten returned home. He 
was in the best of humor, but quiet. At the table Car- 
men looked inquiringly from her father to her mother. 
But when she saw the pleasant faces, she was satisfied 
to do all the talking herself. Proudly she told of her 


THE ADVENTURER 59 


manual training lesson, and how her new teacher had 
told them that she, the previous night, had had the 
privilege to spend a never-to-be-forgotten evening at 
the concert given by Doktor Otten. And it had been a 
* revelation ”—in telling it, the little one mimicked the 
teacher, rolling her eyes heavenward—and teacher had 
asked her if she was related to Doktor Otten. And she 
had answered: not related, but he was her father. Then 
teacher had walked over to her, with such funny, im- 
portant strides, that all the girls in the classroom had 
bit into their handkerchiefs, so as not to laugh aloud, 
and teacher had laid her hand upon Carmen’s head, and 
had said: “Oh, thou blessed child!*? And the little 
one laughed again, as if the very remembrance of it 
would make her burst with merriment. 

* Yes!” said Frau Maria, brushing back the elf-locks 
from the little one’s face, “ and the teacher was right. 
Only you must behave accordingly.” 

* Oh, let her be!” Otten begged, secretly amused at 
the exuberance of Carmen’s spirit, and he winked at 
Frau Maria. 

** Moritz Lachner passed the school. He asked me 
if I would go with him to the Cathedral this afternoon 
after school hours.” 

** Moritz? How does Saul join the prophets? ” 

“He wants to become an historian,” Frau Maria 
said. “ And he tells stories to the child. He is very 
much attached to Carmen, although he is already in 
Sekunda.” 

* He forces his attentions,” the little one remarked 
slightingly. 

“ Carmen!” 

“Well, may I go with him? Afterwards he wants 


60 THE ADVENTURER 


to show me their store. An entire shipment of 
masquerade costumes has arrived there.” 

“That seems to me a pretty strong contrast. But 
as it is for educational purposes, you may go. Art is 
as serious as the Cathedral, and as merry as a 
masquerade. But the main thing is: This is a holi- 
day.” 

“A holiday? ” the little one doubted. 

* An entirely new one: Mary and Joseph! But you 
mustn’t tell anybody else.” 

Carmen Otten was inattentive in school that after- 
noon. She listened quietly for the ringing of the 
clock’s bell that sounded over the roofs of the city, 
and she was the first to leave school at a run. At the 
corner of the Hohestrasse she met Moritz Lachner. 
Without stopping they went on their way. They had 
scarcely walked a few steps when they were hailed by 
Laurenz Terbroich. 

“Where are you going? ” 

* To the Cathedral.” 

* Moritz, too? If they will allow him in.” 

* Come along,” the little girl said timidly, and he was 
willing. 

‘Everybody who behaves decently is allowed to en- 
ter the Cathedral.” Moritz Lachner warded him off 
with a scowl on his brow. “I don’t need you.” 

*T go to the Cathedral to pray; you don’t.” 

What do you know of my prayers? ” 

The Hohestrasse was crowded, but the crowd was 
good-natured. The mass of people pushing along this 
thoroughfare, in spite of its narrowness the most 
crowded of Cologne, were out sight-seeing. They 
stopped in front of the show-windows and made room 


THE ADVENTURER 61 


for other crowds without losing their temper. An 
old woman was pulling a hand-organ along the street. 
A disabled veteran turned the crank, and the organ 
gave forth the beautiful strains of the “ Lorelei” in 
its own peculiar, inimitable way. The people on the 
sidewalk whistled the tune. A country town idyll, in 
the center of the big city’s traffic. 

The little girl wanted to run along with the organ, 
but Moritz Lachner pulled her hurriedly away. 

“ That is not suitable for you, because your father is 
such a well-known man.” 

Passing the Wallrafsplatz, they reached the Cathe- 
dral. They looked up, as they always did, inspired 
with awe at the enormous height. 

* Those are thoughts turned to stone,” said Moritz 
Lachner. 

“ They are groups of pillars,” declared Laurenz Ter- 
broich. 

* Do you know where the Cathedral comes from? ” 
Moritz asked the little girl. “From the Seven 
Mountains, from the Dragon’s Rock. The stones were 
quarried out of the bowels of the mountain.” And 
they entered the mighty edifice. They tiptoed along 
the Stations of the Cross. The holiness of the place 
made them tremble. ‘ When the French came to Co- 
logne at the time of the great Revolution, they made 
a barn out of this,” Moritz told Carmen. ‘“ And they 
stole the lead from the roofs,’ Laurenz remarked in- 
dignantly. The little girl did not hear him. She 
pointed to the beautiful paintings of the innumerable 
windows of the Cathedral. “They show scenes from 
the Bible and the legends of the saints,” Moritz whis- 
pered to her. 


62 THE ADVENTURER 


“You don’t need to tell us that,” Laurenz inter- 
rupted him angrily. ‘‘ You are not even christened.” 

With frightened eyes Carmen stared at her un- 
christened friend. She was afraid to go farther with 
him. The pictures of the saints seemed to look at 
them so peculiarly. ‘ Who is that? ” she asked, point- 
ing at a big statue. 

Moritz waited for Laurenz to answer, until the lat- 
ter had to admit his ignorance. Then Moritz said: 
* That is St. Christopher, the patron saint of all jour- 
neymen.” Laurenz turned up his nose. “I thought 
as much. A saint for common people. We have en- 
tirely different ones.” They looked at the statues of 
the Twelve Apostles, and came to an iron grating, shut- 
ting them off. ‘“ We can’t go in there. That costs 
too much money,” remarked Laurenz and walked on. 
** What may be behind there? ” 

“The treasure chamber,” he reported mysteriously. 
“The golden shrine of the Three Kings. That con- 
tains the remains of the Oriental kings who came to 
Bethlehem. Empress Helena brought their bones to 
Constantinople, and from there they were taken to 
Milan. After the destruction of Milan, Emperor 
Frederick the First presented them to the Archbishop 
of Cologne.” 

** Goodness, how smart you are!” said the little one, 
and silently grasped his hand. Then Moritz Lachner 
was proud of his Christian and Catholic knowledge. 

Two little old nuns tripped past. They stopped 
in front of everything, bent a knee, and looked smilingly 
at each other. A _ red-coated attendant made his 
rounds and looked out sharply for loving couples, 
seeking shelter behind pillars in pretended piety, 


THE ADVENTURER 63 


brushed past the children, and mumbled something. At 
the altar a mass was being read. 

“Come,” said Moritz Lachner, depressed, “ now we 
must pray or go out.” And they sneaked to the portal 
and left the Cathedral. Laurenz Terbroich had al- 
ready disappeared. He had felt a longing for his 
afternoon coffee. 

* Are we going to your house now, Moritz? ” 

The boy joyfully said, “ Yes.” He did not let go 
her hand until they had reached the crooked old house 
on Obermannspforten, that seemed to bend under the 
weight of its immense top story. 

A little gray-bearded Jew, in a greasy coat, with a 
silk skull-cap on his head, came hurriedly into the store 
when the doorbell rang. “ Ah!” he said beamingly, 
“our Moritz. And little Miss Otten. No, but she has 
become a big Miss!” 

The little girl gave him her hand, a little shyly, look- 
ing at her friend the while. 

“We have been in the Cathedral, father, and now I 
want to show Carmen the new costumes.” 

‘In the Cathedral? ” Simon Lachner said, surprised. 
“Isn’t Moritz a smart young man, missie? He knows 
everything. The stones talk to him, and the past, in 
the temple and in the Cathedral. He is the smartest 
in school, and he wants to study. He’ll succeed. He'll 
succeed. No, no, missie, not even the child of Doktor 
Joseph Otten need be ashamed of her association with 
Moritz.” 

** She isn’t, either, father.” 

He patted the boy on the cheek. ‘“ Go ahead, Moritz, 
amuse yourselves. I'll bring something for your vis- 
itor.” 


64 THE ADVENTURER 


“Your father is so peculiar,” the little one said, 
laughing nervously, when they were standing in the 
costume magazine. 

“He works for me alone,” Moritz replied, “ and he 
thinks of me only.” 

**T believe my father never thinks of me when he is 
away.” 

“Oh, yes. Only in a different way. Our fathers 
never forget us. That is proven in every case some 
time or other.” 

They romped about in the room, dimly lit up by a 
tiny oil-lamp. Carmen pressed a glittering crown upon 
her head, let Moritz place a scarlet cloak, intervowen 
with gold, about her shoulders, and held court like a 
queen. She compelled Moritz to put on a page’s suit, 
and then a tin suit of armor, and, while he sat on 
a heap of old clothes, he recited sentimental poetry and 
ballads by Uhland. The children’s voices penetrated 
to old Simon, listening at the door, nodding 
energetically at the romantic recitations of his son, and 
finally shuffling out to the kitchen, there to heap figs, 
dates, and oranges upon a plate, which he carried with 
benevolent mien to the children. 

“ Whoever comes to my Moritz, finds whatever he 
needs,” he explained to the staring little girl. 

Moritz Lachner escorted his little friend home. He 
was as happy as in a dream, because his guest had en- 
joyed her visit so much, and he squeezed her slender 
fingers. 

' “ Here we are,” he said. ‘ Good-night, Carmen.” 

** Good-night, Moritz.” She hesitated. “I would 
like to give you a kiss, but Laurenz might hear of 
it * She ran into the house. And Moritz Lach- 





THE ADVENTURER 65 


ner was content that she at least had expressed the 
wish, and sauntered home. 

Christmas came and went. Daily old Klaus growled, 
and swept the snow from the sidewalk, so as not to be 
fined by the police. And one day he put on his old- 
fashioned frock-coat. Without it becoming public, he 
was to go along to the Marriage Court. He and Pro- 
fessor Koch acted as witnesses. 

It was on the evening of this day. Joseph Otten sat 
in his wife’s room. She had placed her arm about 
him. 

“Well? Satisfied, Maria? ” 

** Now I have no desire left.” 

“ Dear old girl! Who can call himself happy before 
death? ” 

“JT, Joseph. Life has given to me all that is beau- 
tiful.” 

“ And that? ” 

* Oh, you! Don’t ridicule now 

“ Carmen!” called out Otten. ‘“ The holy family be- 
longs together.” And he lifted the little girl on his 
lap and let her ride on his knee. But in spite of his 
apparent frivolity, he felt warm and content. And 
daily, when it grew dusk, and he closed the books in 
which he had studied; when he sat at the piano and 
played fantasies, while outside the northeaster shook 
the shutters; when he was called to the table, and, 
later, when he sat on the sofa with Frau Maria in his 
arms, after telling stories of the adventurous world 
outside, he would repeat to himself, and to the grateful 
woman: “ The best thing of all is to fly home to one’s 
nest * 

He spent some time in the company of Heinrich 


3° 








66 THE ADVENTURER 


Koch, who again obtained a long leave of absence, to 
continue writing his history of the Catholic Church 
amidst the records of the Vatican in Rome. ‘“ When 
one is a church historian,” he used to say, “ one ab- 
sorbs a bit of merry heathendom. ‘That makes one un- 
fit for the regular church service. History recognizes 
no dogma.” 

He rarely met Terbroich. He detested the latter’s 
Jesuitical hypocrisy. 

Frau Maria continued to attend to her household 
duties. She enjoyed the hours and days, which gave 
her the presence of the man she loved, like holidays, 
that come to bless later through the memory of them. 

The spring flood was raising the waters of the Rhine, 
and the children would run to the river-front to see 
the drifting ice. A few warm days followed a period 
of rainy weather. Then the river became quiet, and 
shipping started anew. Their white sails filled with 
wind, stately ships sped down the river, passing the 
walls and towers of Cologne, so old and so gray. Un- 
der full steam, small, swift steamers towed long rows 
of boats upstream, and greeted the city with shrill 
blasts from their whistles. 

Joseph Otten often stood at the quay and followed 
them with his eyes. When sail and smoke disap- 
peared in the distance, he would start up, as if he had 
been dreaming and had been awakened. Then he would 
go home, chat with Maria, and practice for hours at 
the piano with his little daughter after school hours. 

But his walks to the river-front increased in fre- 
quency, his looks following the ships lingered longer, 
and, when he finally tore himself away, his steps were 
tired and his eyes without luster. 


THE ADVENTURER 67 


In the evening, during the cozy hours in Maria’s 
company, he would suddenly begin to talk nervously. 
“* Now it is spring in the south. Attna has put on a 
girdle of emeralds. The sea is like a turquoise, and the 
sea breeze carries the odors of roses blooming on Capri. 
Yes—of that Cologne knows nothin Be 

Maria had noticed the change in its first elusive 
signs. She had expected it, and, therefore, it caused 
her no pain. If she was pained, it was only because 
she saw her husband suffering, trying to master his 
blood. And she saw that he was being defeated, but 
still struggled. 

He read to her a letter which he had received from 
Heinrich Koch, now in Rome. “ Days of sunshine in 
the Campagna. Everything blooms and glories, as if 
the world had never been so beautiful before.” 

* As if the world had never been so beautiful be- 
fore ” he repeated, and his look went past the let- 
ter, away into the beyond. 

Frau Maria suddenly felt her heart beat violently. 
Now it would have to be done. And she forced her- 
self with all her strength to seem calm. 

* You must not miss that, Joseph.” 

It was out, and she was able to smile, while he 
looked at her as if he could not comprehend. 

“You are mocking me,” it came slowly, forcedly. 

* But there is really no important work detaining 
you. The concert obligations for the remainder of the 
season have been canceled. I really don’t know what 
could prevent you.” 

* Really—I don’t know it myself.” 

“Write to Koch to expect you in a few days.” 

“ He will be astonished! ” 








68 THE ADVENTURER 


“ Or would you rather surprise him? ” 

* Oh, if I had my choice—Rome is Rome at all times, 
but wandering about in Sicily now would be great.” 

“But, then, I also would prefer Sicily, at least for 
the present.” 

* And jump from Palermo over to Tunis, to sit like 
Scipio upon the ruins of Carthage.” 

“Then I will look after your trunks at once. I sup- 
pose you will take the night train to-morrow. It has 
sleeping-cars.” 

“ But, Maria > and he sat at the table with red- 
dened ace, “This is just as if you were sending me 
emay-! 

“T am, Joseph.” 

** You—send me away of your own accord? And 
why? Surely I have not said anything? ” 

“IT send you away, so that you will not run away 
from me, Joseph.” It cost her an effort to appear 
cheerful. ‘ You have a sensible wife.” 

* But I am not thinking of running away from 
you.” 

© Unconsciously, Joseph. And if you don’t go of 
your own accord, something will pull you along. The 
advance agents of spring, the old love of wandering, 
the longing for the romantic in life——” 

** Say, the spirit of adventure, too. Good God, what 
a vagabond am I!” 

“You can’t change your nature. Perhaps I love 
you all the more for it. The children of sorrow one 
loves most. And you are not hiding your blood. You 
have the courage—to be yourself.” 

“ The courage of a tramp,” he said, but he was al- 
ready laughing. 





THE ADVENTURER 69 


“ How long is it since I saw you laugh like that? If 
only for the joy of that!” 

“The worst husbands have the best wives. It must 
be to even up matters, for the world is a world of har- 
mony.” He arose, and so did she. “ Really, Maria, 
you advise me yourself—to again risk a little trip? ” 

“ Big or little, I advise you.” 

“ Woman, woman! What a wondrous creature have 
I caught in you!” 

He pressed her in his arms, and she held herself, 
grasping his shoulders. “ Only one thin 

“ What is it? ” 

“ Well, Joseph—it was at any rate a beautiful win- 
ter at home? ” 

“ Beautiful? Beautiful? What a poor, poor word. 
I have been in Paradise, Maria! And when I think of it 
—no, not yet, to-morrow, I'll wait a few days.” 

She freed herself from his embrace. ‘“ No, to-mor- 
row. That is settled. Surely, we do not wish to tor- 
ture each other ” She ran out of the room. Her 
strength was at an end. 

Before leaving, Otten went down to old Klaus. “I 
am going away to-night, Klaus.” 

* You are telling me no news.” 

* Did you know it? ” 

** Since the first swallow has been back, I knew it.” 

“ Good-by, Klaus. And if I should stay longer— 
look well after the lady.” 

* You need not tell me that. Good-by, Jupp. And 


come home with more sense *e 











Frau Maria returned from the railroad station. 
Old Klaus was sitting with Carmen at the table, and 


70 THE ADVENTURER 


made little ships from walnut shells. When the lady 
arrived, he wished her good-night, and left the room. 

“Father is gone by now,” Frau Maria said, and 
quietly sat down beside the child, in hat and coat. 

** Mother! ” 

* What is it, Carmen? ” 

* Laurenz Terbroich said father could not stand it 
in Cologne, because he could have no adventures here.” 

** No, child; but Cologne is too narrow for him. He 
must have the wide world about him because he is so 
great.” 

** And Laurenz said, because out there, there were so 
many beautiful women.” 

Frau Maria took the child into her arms. ‘“ Listen 
to me, Carmen. You are getting bigger and more 
sensible. I can already talk over many things with you. 
Your father—you see, your father is a man the like of 
whom is not easily found. I, your mother, tell you 
that. And if someone tries to tell you something dif- 
ferent, don’t believe it. The man of whom they talk 
differently is not your father. That is only his 
double.” 

** His double? ” 

“That is a man who looks just like him, just as 
sunny and big, and who—once in a while—makes mis- 
takes at the expense of the other.” 

** And does not father know that other man? ” 

* No,” she replied with a faint smile; “ he does not 
know him yet. But when once he finds that other one 
—then it will be over with the other—forever.” And 
suddenly she drew the child to her bosom and kissed 
her fervently, as if she would continue the farewell 
caresses she had lavished upon the man. 


THE ADVENTURER 71 


** Come, child, we will go to bed. I am tired to-day.” 

And when she had put the child to bed, she went to 
her own room. She looked about. Alone—— 

“Tt was a fairy-tale,” she thought, “but at least I 
have lived through it.” 

And she extinguished the light. 


CHAPTER V 


* How melancholy the waters of the Trevi sound 
to-day.” 

Joseph Otten took glass and bottle from fat Peppe, 
the patriarch of the Osteria, rinsed the glass with a few 
drops of the golden Frascati, tossing them into the 
narrow room, whose atmosphere was laden with the 
odor of wine, filled the glasses, and drank to the health 
of Heinrich Koch. Again the day was a harbinger of 
spring, a morning in February, as warm as summer. 
The rays of the sun poured in through the wide-open 
door of the Osteria, stirring the dust upon tables and 
floor, making it dance and flicker in fine pillars in a 
silent reproof for the host, who overlooked them with 
a good-natured smile. They carried on a merry color- 
play with the spilled wine that remained on the tables 
without annoying any of the guests. 

Heinrich Koch, wearing a long, well-worn frock- 
coat, slowly sipped the wine. “I hear the Fontana 
as I have heard it for years. It runs and runs away, 
runs and runs away—only that I hear the running 
away more distinctly now.” 

“Oho! There is plenty of time yet for that.” 

“Tt was not I who brought the note of melancholy 
into the conversation.” 

“Nor I.” 

** Well, then, it was the rushing of the Trevi. Drink, 
Joseph. The Frascati clears the dissatisfied mind. 
You were made too much of at the Embassy last night.” 

72 


THE ADVENTURER 73 


“Too much? That is no compliment for my art.” 

“No,” said Koch, filling his glass; “ I did not speak 
of your art. It stands above this morning drink; to 
me it is too holy for that. If there was any height left 
for you to climb, you have reached it. Your art has 
mellowed like a noble wine. Full and fiery 
Strange—has it not often struck you, too, that the 
best wine is drunk—in the most unconventional re- 
sorts.” 

“Your health, reverend sir. I scent it. Now it 
comes.” 

“Very well. If you will listen. The artist ‘hors 
concours.’ The man does not please me so well.” 

“ Hm With that you wish to say, the man was 
made too much of at yesterday’s soirée.” 

“Tn itself it is not so bad. Only—Herr Doktor Ot- 
ten seems to like it too well.” 

“Dear Heinrich, all honor to your friendship and 
deep knowledge. But whether a celibate is able to de- 
cide properly in these matters m 

*T don’t even think of deciding. As you have just 
said, I am only a sort of wallflower, so to speak, when 
the main banquet begins. Possibly, too, envy sharpens 
my vision. For I do not flee for nothing from my 
barren rooms and sit behind the bottle long into the 
night with the righteous Peppe at the Fontana Trevi, 
or with the no less righteous Uncle Pasquale at the Via 
San Giuseppe to fool myself into forgetting my lone- 
liness. Let that be. As far as you are concerned, I 
am without envy. You know that, and if the Sultan 
himself should give you a passport to everything as 
payment. But just on that account I am—in a sense 
—your conscience.” 











74 THE ADVENTURER 


“Did the little Eccellenza displease you so much? 
She is young, elegant, unusual. The sun of Rome has 
heated her blood. Shall I close my eyes when she 
gives the sign to fire? It tempts me to learn what 
sort of precious metal glows in this fire.” 

*Incurable optimist! You will find ashes.” 

* And if so! From time to time I must test my 
youth, for—I am no longer as young as I was. I must 
from time to time renew the certainty that I still hold 
the power in my hands, the power over women’s hearts. 
That keeps me going. And success tells me that I am 
right. I wander through a garden of flowers and the 
flowers throw themselves into my hand.” 

* And you still believe that that is meant for the 
man in you? ” 

** For what else? ” 

Heinrich Koch was silent for a while. He played 
with his glass, pushed it away, and looked frankly at 
the friend of his youth. 

‘It is the odor of the laurels that brings the women 
to you, Joseph. And with that, all is said.” 

Joseph Otten’s fingers beat heavily upon the table. 
“ That means, in plain words, when my star sinks a3 

“A new constellation of stars rises.” 

Joseph Otten laughed. “For some time to come I 
shall have something to say as to the constellations. I 
have my signs. Calm yourself.” 

The sound of the rushing waters of the Trevi 
was heard. They sat and listened to the drowsy 
melody. 

** How long is it, Joseph, since you have been in 
Cologne? ” 

“ Three years,” he answered curtly, 





THE ADVENTURER 75 


* And in three years you have not seen Maria or Car- 
men? How can you stand that!” 

“Tt has been the longest separation thus far. One 
engagement followed the other. That was strenuous. 
I sought recreation in Italy.” 

‘I cannot understand these reasons.” 

“Reasons? Yes, if I had reasons I would get rid of 
them. For I know of no people whom I love so dearly 
as those two in Cologne. But—it is an embarrassment 
—I Oh, Heinrich, why should I not be frank with 
you? I am no home body. I must have changing 
scenery about me. My blood must remain astir. I 
must have the consciousness that I may do as I please 
if I am to remain what I am. Matrimony does not 
allow that. I was inconsistent when I bound myself. 
I did it to reward one love with another. But to as- 
sume the consequences of this union in the sober 
bourgeois manner, that would mean for me the greatest 
inconsistency of my life. I must live my life to a 
finish as I have begun it. All else would be charla- 
tanry, posing of the worst kind, a lie to myself and to 
others, who would have the right to demand a dif- 
ferent being in me, a being I could not become, though 
I had the best of intentions.” 

“TT took you for a greater artist of life. To follow 
one’s own inclination without restraint does not require 
a Joseph Otten. For that, a good ordinary equipment 
of lightmindedness is enough.” 

“Oh, no, old fellow. It requires more than that if 
the winnings shall compensate for the risk.” 

“The winnings? Look yours over. You can put 
them into an empty bag, and it will remain empty. Do 
not get angry. You could mention names, I know, if 





76 THE ADVENTURER 


your chivalry did not forbid, names of wives and of 
women without that title, who have played parts in the 
life of our time. What does that prove? At best, that 
they, too, avoid the consequences, and only wish to cash 
the winnings. One cheats the other. Do you not feel 
that? ” 

“No. I only feel that your understanding does not 
suffice for these matters.” 

* You could easily assist there,” Heinrich Koch re- 
plied. ‘‘ But you will take care not to do so. For it 
would have to be done at the expense of your feelings 
as a victor.” 

“It is your pleasure to speak in riddles.” 

‘Ts that so incomprehensible? Or do you think that 
the women do not experience the same sense of conquest 
over you?” 

* Pshaw! ” 

“With that you do not blow the dust from beautiful 
pictures. It sticks too close.” 

“You have your sentimental day to-day, Heinrich. 
It is the fault of this unseasonable spring weather. The 
warmth of the sun stirs me up to new adventures, but 
you it depresses because you have no old ones to look 
back to. That is it. At bottom you feel the warmth 
of the sun as longingly as I.” 

Heinrich Koch looked down his long black coat that 
showed no tender care. His lips were pressed together. 
“ T have no wife,” he then said. ‘“ But if I had, I would 
know how to draw the line between wife and women.” 

“The women of to-day are not what our mothers 
were, Heinrich. And we, too, have changed.” 

** We—that I'll subscribe to. -The struggle for gain 
has become intensified, and with it greed. They always 


THE ADVENTURER 77 


go together. But that the women could become differ- 
ent from our mothers? Oh, well, you mean in their 
exterior, their dress and manners, also in education, 
in their movement of emancipation? But certainly not 
in motherhood.” 

“In that, too. Why not?” 

** Because in love one side must be passive, and be- 
cause nature has assigned the passive side to the woman. 
One may err against the laws of nature, but one cannot 
dispose of them with arguments. For they are ever- 
lasting.” 

“Why should not woman be allowed activity in 
love? ” 

“ When you are content to wear petticoats they will. 
Else the joke is absurd.” 

‘“* My dear Heinrich, there are women in the lead who 
are more brilliant than we two.” 

“ Brilliant. But are they charming? So young, so 
beautiful, so sweet, and so admired and courted, that 
they might have their choice among real men? That is 
where they are found lacking. Old or dried wood burns 
easiest, my dear Joseph, and there’s a reason. Instead 
of your female agitators, put girls and women in the 
lead who have virtues of body and soul such as I de- 
scribe, and who then offer themselves from pure en- 
thusiasm for the cause, and I will become a convert at 
once.” 

“Offer themselves? You do not seem to know 
whereof you speak. Every woman has the right to ex- 
perience that happiness which her more fortunate sister 
experiences.” 

“Nicely spoken. But in that case the rule would 
also have to be applicable to all men. Or else the 


78 THE ADVENTURER 


equality would be illusory. I doubt very much if the 
women would accept.” 

“And as far as youth, beauty, and nobility of 
thought are concerned,” Otten continued, undisturbed, 
“these are not lacking among women who have freed 
themselves from conventionality, I can assure you.” 

* And—their fidelity? ” 

“They are as true as we are!” 

“That means, not at all.” 

“Can we not be true, too? Besides, if you believe 
fidelity non-existent among us - 

*“ Among us? Oh, no! Among you! There is a 
difference. Only among you people of ‘ changing pic- 
tures,’ of the hot blood, among the people with the per- 
verted conceptions with regard to what constitutes self- 
cultivation.” 

“We are of age. Every one has a right to choose his 
own destiny.” 

“Let your daughters do so,” Heinrich Koch said 
dryly. 

Otten looked up. A flush rose to his fore- 
head. “Why that? You wish to spoil my good 
humor.” 

“Let your daughters do it,” the other repeated. 
* And if you can imagine your daughters living the 
same lives that you do, with the same expansive right to 
choose their own destiny—if you are able to think that 
without suddenly seeing black, then you may at once 
place me in the Museum of the Vatican as a living 
mummy.” 

Otten arose. ‘“ You are going too far. I will not 
follow you upon the field of sophistry.” 

“That is no answer. For I am not the kind of 





THE ADVENTURER 79 


sophist who sticks his head into the sand in order not 
to see realities.” 

* Peppe, my bill.” 

Heinrich Koch pulled his ruffled friend back into his 
seat. “T’ll not let you go like that, Joseph. Show 
me that you are an exception, and I am content. But 
do not place yourself amidst the crowd. That dwarfs 
you, and I cannot see my only friend small. Live as 
you like, but do not put a cloak about things, as the 
small and puny beings must do, to give relief to their 
instincts that have run amuck. You do not need that. 
For you give more than you receive. Therefore, give 
with the visor open. If these women throw themselves 
at you, only because they notice the odor of laurels, and 
would like to adorn themselves with you, do not let 
them be undeceived. Show them that you judge them 
correctly as a ‘ quantité négligeable.? And then we 
will have again our splendid Joseph Otten, whose merry 
laughter is worth as much in this world as a trip to 
church on the part of virtuous youth. Prosit, Jo- 
seph!” 

* Heinrich,” Otten laughed, “I don’t know now 
whether you have preached morality or immorality. But 
the arrow has hit the mark. And with this glass of 
Frascati I wash down the last trace of the nonsense 
that was there a moment ago. Oh, you dear, ‘ sear 
dun!’ ” 

“You pay for that bottle,” Koch decided. “I have 
had to talk myself dry.” 

**Peppe! Another bottl——— But one thing, Hein- 
rich & 

And Otten’s laughing eyes became serious. ‘“ That 
subject—of our daughters—must not be mentioned be- 





80 THE ADVENTURER 


tween us again. For my sake and for—Maria’s sake.” 
He grasped at his collar. “There is your proof— 
Maria. Well!” 

Heinrich Koch looked feelingly at the comrade of 
his youth. 

“ Joseph,” he said, placing his hand upon that of his 
friend, “ I would take a run over to Cologne again.” 

“ Later I have a longing to sneak into the 
Rheingasse and look in at the windows. To see if they 
are well, the tall Maria and the little Carmen. Only 
one long, all-seeing look, and then on! For, as I told 
you, Heinrich, I cannot rid myself of that feeling of 
embarrassment, of the embarrassment of being correctly 
married, like a genuine bourgeois, who ought by rights 
to promenade with wife and child in the Botanical or 
Zodlogical Gardens ; at all events, to be in duty bound to 
stay at home until a concert relieves and saves me! 
When I think of it, I begin to perspire and feel like a 
fool. And that is the very last thing to suit my in- 
clinations.” 

** Still, I would take a run over to Cologne again.” 

“‘ Yes, yes, perhaps in passing through. But first a 
breathing spell.” 

“ Just think of the joy of those two at home. And 
there is no greater joy than to give joy to those one 
loves.” 

* You would have been a splendid family-man, Hein- 
rich.” 

“That is possible. The gifts of fate are unequally 
divided.” 

* Could you not ” Otten stopped. 

“No,” said Koch. “ And if I could free myself, I 
could not desert my history of the church. The rec- 








THE ADVENTURER Sl 


ords of the Vatican must remain open to me. And, 
after that—it will be too late.” 

“ There you are, ruining your life amidst old books 
and documents.” 

“And you?” A fine smile of ridicule played about 
the lips of Koch. “Let it be. We are all adventur- 
ers.” He clinked his glass against that of his friend. 
** Well, then—here is to the one who lasts the longest 
at it. He shall pity the other. Prosit!” 

“Or envy him. Prosit!” : 

A small crowd appeared at the door of the Osteria. 
There was whispering and suppressed laughter. Then 
a little group of men pushed their way in, and the 
foremost, slapping the philosophizing Otten on both 
shoulders, recited with assumed pathos: 


** When the father and the son 
On the barrel of a gun 
Sit and fence, and seconds lack, 
Then it’s time we all go back 
And take another drink. 


“ Peppe, bring wine! ” 

“Peppe, a box of rolled sardines. And wine for 
me to suit that dark-brown taste in my mouth.” 

“ Children, if this is not real spring! There will be 
a glorious carnival!” 

“Doktor, your health! Yesterday, at the Embassy, 
you stood the Romans on their heads—at least the 
ladies.” 

“The Council has gathered in the Vatican. They 
are about to canonize you, in order to keep your mortal 
part from the crush.” 


82 THE ADVENTURER 


“And to thoroughly direct the eyes of the fair to 
the soul within.” 

“Your health, Professor Koch! We suspect you 
of having been sent out to enter into negotiations with 
the ‘ corpus delicti.’ ” 

The last place at the table of the friends had been 
taken. 

Two German-Roman journalists let loose their pyro- 
technics. They caught the leads which they threw to 
one another with a cleverness that could only be the 
product of years of practice at Father Pasquale’s or 
Peppe’s. And a number of young painters and sculp- 
tors furnished a noisy responsive chorus. The wine 
ran in glittering streamlets over the table. Now and 
then one would rinse his glass and toss the drops on 
the floor. The sharp odor of Roman cigarettes per- 
meated the atmosphere. And outside the Fontana 
Trevi lisped and murmured, gurgled and splashed, and 
the Roman sun smiled. 

** What is your intention? ” Joseph Otten called into 
the bedlam of voices. ‘Do you wish to advance the 
date of springtime six weeks? Do you wish to coax 
spring up from the Campagna? I am with you!” 

* Meister!” exclaimed the young painter in wonder- 
ment. “ You are a reader of thoughts. Two stately 
carriages will stop in front of this door within a quarter 
of an hour, to entice us away.” 

“Into the Campagna?” 

“Whatever deserves to be called ‘ Rome’ will be out 
there this afternoon.” 

“Where do we dine? In front of the Porta San 
Giovanni? In the Faccia Fresca? It is Sunday, and 
a sunny day to boot.” 


THE ADVENTURER 83 


Otten’s suggestion was accepted joyously. 

“In the Faccia Fresca! Open your eyes! Open 
your hearts! And don’t forget the tummy. Coming 
along, Professor? The ‘history of the church’ 
will breathe freely in the interval. Live and let 
live! ” 

Koch declined. He intended to make some re- 
searches. 

* Tl bet, we'll find him this evening researching at 
Pasquale’s.” 

“Here come the landaus. Wide-bellied, properly 
curved. One can see that they were made with a view 
to transporting fathers of the church, who did not be- 
lieve in the fullness of thought alone. May their em- 
bonpoint be blessed! We will benefit by it.” 

The two drivers, typical Romans, cracked their 
whips. Otten stepped into the foremost carriage. The 
young painter, who had carried on the conversation 
with him, sat beside him. The others scattered as 
chance and mood led them. Heinrich Koch stood, glass 
in hand, on the street, and saw them drive away. “A 
light-hearted reckless crowd,” he mused, returning to 
his seat. “ But mighty happy.” 

The big brown horses trotted proudly through the 
sunshine. They crossed the city; San Giovanni’s im- 
posing composition in Laterano appeared, and the 
young painter at Otten’s side greeted it with the old 
sentence of dedication : “ Holiest Church of the Lateran, 
Mother and head of all the churches of the city and of 
the earth!” 

* Does not the crowd of saints on top of the beau- 
tiful building give it the appearance of a frigate with 
the sailors standing in the rigging? ” one of the journal- 


84 THE ADVENTURER 


ists called over. And the Porta San Giovanni lay be- 
hind them. 

Otten sat silent. Before him, crossed majestically by 
the Via Appia Nuova, lay stretched the panorama of 
all panoramas—the Roman Campagna. The slight ef- 
fect of the wine had disappeared. His eyes became rev- 
erent in the presence of these traces of a world-empire 
of the past, which here had the summer palaces of its 
great, and—their tombs. Like a frame, fashioned by 
the hand of a master, the curved line of the Albanese 
Mountains encompassed the picture. 

“Look,” he said softly, touching the knee of the 
young painter beside him. “ Before such a creation 
of God, one cannot have petty thoughts. One should 
bring the sectarians of art here and let them see.” 

** And there you have the people, Herr Doktor, un- 
changed throughout the passing centuries!” 

The carriages stopped before an Osteria, the Faccia 
Fresca, whose vineclad arbors were occupied by people 
dining and drinking, by merry citizens with their sweet- 
hearts, by browned inhabitants of the Campagna, by 
disciples of art in the mood for adventures. Wander- 
ing singers let their arias rise above the babel of voices, 
musicians played upon guitars and mandolines, dark- 
eyed girls in the dress of the people, who, on week-days, 
would wait on the Spanish stairway for the coming 
of their painters, shook and rattled their tambourines, 
trimmed with tiny bells. Now and then the scream of 
a pretty girl, who was being courted too strenuously, 
a violent clash of words, a starting and listening on all 
sides, then again the babel of voices, the clinking of 
glasses and of plates, snatches from arias, the sighing 
of mandolines, and the sound of the tambourines, 


THE ADVENTURER 85 


The newcomers had captured a table. The meal was 
ordered, and was served in a very few minutes. Plat- 
ters with steaming spaghetti, broiled chickens, plates 
of salads, fruit, and cheese. And with it the blessed 
white wine of the Castelli Romani. Toasts flew to and 
fro, from table to table, and dark-eyed tambourine girls 
were grasped about the waist. The joy of life flared 
up. Otten sent a wild Juchzer into the air: “ Youth! 
Oh, my youth, let me hold on to thee!” 

“Farther! Still farther! Away into bliss! We 
live not for naught on the soil of old Rome!” 

The landaus drove up. The musicians escorted the 
gentleman, and the fat old horses trotted on, ill pleased 
that they no longer could display the speed and pride 
of their youth. But the passage becomes more nar- 
row. In a long line, the equipages of Roman society 
roll along. Between them the hired wagons of the 
city people. The Via Appia has become a corso, full 
of life and elegance. Fans indicate recognition here 
and there; slender, jeweled hands greet openly, silently, 
timidly, or with animation. The Albanese Mountains 
come nearer. The bright February sun is reflected by 
the windows of Frascati, of Ottberno. For an hour 
they drive on. Surprisedly the grand world of ruins 
about looks down upon the strange people, that seem- 
ingly now have eyes and ears only for one another. A 
white building, the Osteria Antica, looks inviting. Upon 
the flat roof, in its wide halls, upon the steps of the 
stairways, Roman citizens sit close together. A wall 
of carriages surrounds the inn. Newly arriving ones 
line up on the edge of the road, or drive into the meadow. 
Waiters in shirtsleeves run about with bottles and 
glasses, into which they stick their fingers. Impatient 


86 THE ADVENTURER 


guests play waiter themselves, buy the wide-bellied bot- 
tles covered with straw, and filled with Chianti; loaves 
of bread, slices of juicy ham, and enormous bologna 
sausages whose odor suggests the Orient. Men drink, 
and women. Nurses let babies drink as a matter of 
course; the drivers enjoy their goblets of wine as well 
as do their masters. And there is no end of shouting 
and gesticulating. In the distance rises a cloud of dust, 
growing larger and larger. Wheels are seen, turning 
at a furious rate, in front of them four horses’ legs, 
drawing themselves together and springing apart so 
fast that the eye cannot follow them. Now it whizzes 
up—is past! The applause of the onlookers follows. 

“That was the Eccellenza,” says the young painter. 
** She drives herself.” 

It seemed to Otten as if a burning look had touched 
him. He laughed. Then he looked toward his com- 
panions, who were mixing with the other guests, blind 
to everything that was not Roman and not female. 
* Donna é mobile * he hummed to himself, found the 
exit, and sauntered along the road. 

He had wandered along for a quarter of an hour, 
when he saw the carriage come back. The gray in his 
silver-trimmed harness stretched his legs in a slow trot. 
The lady driving held the whip carelessly. Now she 
noticed the pedestrian. She straightened up, so that 
her bust stretched the gray dress, drew in the reins, and 
stopped. Hurriedly the boyish groom leaped from 
the seat behind, and grasped the horse’s head. 

* See, there, the maestro! ” 

Otten stepped up to the driver’s seat, doffed his hat, 
and shook the hand she held out to him. “I am 
searching for the spring, Eccellenza.” 





THE ADVENTURER 87 


* And will find it? ” 

“ And will find it.” 

“Tt is but Februar Pe 

“Why? If we christen the month May, it is May.” 

“Tt requires witchcraft for that.” 

** As if a woman has ever feared to use that.” 

** How do you make that out? ” And from under the 
heavy lashes her look took in the man. 

“T like surprises, Eccellenza.” 

She opened her eyes wide. In their depths he saw a 
smouldering fire. But he stood the look, apparently 
unmoved. 

*T still have a place free for you in the carriage.” 

“Tn your heart another? ” 

“T am no fortune-teller.” 

“And I am looking for spring. Must I saunter 
on?” 

“Step up.” And she made room for him beside her. 
* Perhaps it will let you coax it forth.” 

He placed his finger on his mouth. “ It is all around 
us. Do you feel it? Don’t scare it away.” 

The horse bounded to one side as the whip came 
down. Then it sprang forward. The groom leaped up 
behind and crossed his arms. To the right and left 
the fields of the Campagna flitted past. Soon the 
Osteria Antica lay behind them. Ruins appeared and 
disappeared; tombs and monuments of the dead; in 
the distance the melancholy arches of the ancient water- 
works ; a lonely castle, and the miles of plateau. 

The horse fell into a walk. The woman felt the 
looks of the man at her side. And Otten drew a deep 
breath. His blood was rushing through his veins. He 
placed his hand upon her wrist. There it remained. 





88 THE ADVENTURER 


As they came near the Porta San Giovanni, the 
sudden dark of the February evening came. Otten 
turned about. “ The home of spring.” 

Behind them the Campagna seemed bathed in fire. 
But a fleeting moment, then it sank away in the gather- 
ing gloom. “That is what one longs for, when one 
is again in Germany.” 

* Tt is well that we have left the noise behind us,” she 
said quickly. 

“The noise one forgets. One only remembers the 
colors.” 

* What remains to us of the most beautiful day? ” 

* The secret of longing. The colors remain.” 

*T love color,” she replied. ‘‘ And here, we are at 
our destination. Will you take a glass of tea with me? 
I am shivering, since the sunset is gone.” 

** We open the gates of the soul, and we let out what 
we have saved for festive hours.” 

The carriage drove into the garden of the villa. 
Otten leaped from the driver’s seat and lifted the lady 
down. ‘The groom opened the portal, and they walked 
over the marble tiles into a small room in delicate color 
tints. Otten looked smilingly about. 

** You must excuse me for a moment, dottore.” 

“No change of dress, please,” he begged. ‘ There 
must be no difference. That would be a barrier of 
formality.” 

* T will get the tea myself for such an honored guest.” 

He sat in an easy-chair, and heard her steps as she 
returned. She placed the silver tray upon the table, 
poured out the tea, and cast a quick glance at him. 

“ My husband will be in in a minute——” 


* That’s good,” was all he would reply. 


THE ADVENTURER 89 


“'That’s good? He claims that the cradle of his 
ancestors stood in Trastevere. Don’t you know? 
Where jealousy came to the world.” 

“That must be very interesting, for your husband.” 

* Such a téte-a-téte. Do you not fear? ” 

“T fear only one thing. That your husband may 
enter before I have kissed you.” 

She set the teapot down, suddenly stooped over him, 
and kissed his hair. He threw his arm about her flex- 
ible waist and looked searchingly into her dark, shining 
eyes. 

** We have known each other for thousands of years.” 

“Since yesterday, when you sang at the Embassy. 
Impatient barbarian! ” 

“For thousands of years. Since the creation of the 
world. I am the first man and you are the first woman. 
Nothing else exists. Nothing but paradise and joy.” 

She went back. “It is well that we are alone. I 
lied.” 

** So did the first woman, and it did not injure her 
beauty.” 

“When I saw you yesterday, I wanted to capture 
you. I have succeeded.” 

“You have forgotten how to be captured. But I 
will not be denied my right.” 

* Oh—not so proud. Woman’s time has come.” 

* Oh—not so proud. You will come to grief through 
desertion of your colors. But you will enjoy it. Read 
Aristophanes.” 

* Even men to-day take up the cause of women.” 

‘* They are of a kind to suit the purpose—having na- 
tures like Herostratus’, but, being unable to attract at- 
tention in any other way, go fishing in troubled waters, ’’ 


90 THE ADVENTURER 


“Oh,” she sighed. “I thought we had to appear 
imposing to you great men. How can I do that?” 

“Thus!” he said, arising, spreading out his arms 
and looking laughingly at her. 

She took a step backward, to take in the picture. He 
heard the rustling of silk. Then he folded her in his 
arms. She was his captive. .. . 

* Now I’ll revenge Thusnelda, beautiful Roman.” 

* Barbarian ” she replied, closing her eyes. .. . 

It was almost midnight when Otten walked along the 
Via San Giovanni. He was thirsty. 

“ They are all alike, when the senses speak. Another 
doll stuffed with sawdust. And every time I expect the 
great revelation. Bajazzo, play!” 

From out of the wineroom of Zi Pasquale came the 
sound of jolly song. German student songs, songs of 
the Rhine. . 

Otten stopped. “ Anything but that—now. Nothing 
German now. And nothing recalling the Rhine. There 
are people there who believe in me.” 

He turned about, and sought the wineroom of Peppe 
at the Fontana Trevi. From afar he heard the rush- 
ing of the waters. And, suddenly, he gave up the 
thought of wine and company. 

“Tf I would at last—take a run over to Cologne 
again 

“TI almost believe my vessel already carries, though 
invisibly, the home pennant. It needs docking.” 

He looked into the swirling eddies. A cool shiver ran 
over him. 

* But no dismantling. To remain young. To re- 
turn.” 

He cast a coin over his shoulder into the flowing 








THE ADVENTURER 91 


water. “It is an old superstition,” he thought. ‘‘ Who- 
ever drinks of the water, is drawn hither again by the 
Nymph of the Trevi. It certainly is beautiful at home, 
and one can grow old and gray there in peace—— 
But I think I will take a draught, at any rate.” 

He bent over the edge of the basin and drank a 
few drops of the descending water. 

* Pll return.” 


CHAPTER VI 


JosePH Orten had left Rome without farewell ex- 
cept the laconic note he sent to Heinrich Koch, which 
contained nothing but the words: “ I’ll take a run over 
to Cologne again.” When he stretched himself in his 
sleeping-car berth at nine o’clock in the evening, he 
did so with the feeling of a man who wishes nothing 
more fervently than to sleep soundly like a good citi- 
zen for ten hours without interruption. His wish was 
fulfilled. Dreamless he slept, as in his boyhood days 
after a good, long tramp. When he awoke, he was be- 
wildered for a moment. Then he dressed, went into the 
open space in the car, and opened the window. The 
train was passing through a station. Otten caught the 
name. He was getting close to Milan. And, suddenly, 
the man experienced something akin to a boyish pleas- 
ure at getting home, while those remaining behind were 
left wondering. 

The joyful mood still lasted as the train left Milan, 
and as it passed the Lakes Como and Lugano. Then 
the express train entered the region of the Alps. Sud- 
denly, spring had been replaced by winter. 

Restlessly, Otten looked out of the window. Before 
his eyes the mighty dividing wall of the Saint Gothard 
arose. The mountain tops lay covered with snow, and 
the icefields glittered in uncanny fashion. And stead- 
ily the train entered deeper and deeper into the wintry 
world, as silent as death itself. An icy chill entered 
the blood of the watcher at the train-window, and yet 

92 


THE ADVENTURER 93 


it was warm in the dining-car, where he had sat down 
to eat his noonday meal, and the red wine of Neuf 
Chatelle, that reflected the light before his eyes, was of 
a fiery sort. And he was oppressed by an inexplicable 
feeling of dread, which he could not shake off. ‘“ What 
the devil,” he thought, “ drives you away from spring- 
time back into the gray German winter? Was it not 
ever the other way heretofore? When one is forty- 
eight, one doesn’t change one’s habits without punish- 
ment.” 

When the train stopped in Airolo, he thought for a 
moment of leaving it. The mountain-giants seemed to 
rise threateningly in front of him, and the entrance to 
the tunnel seemed like an entrance to Hades, while from 
the iceclad stone wall a witches’ Sabbath of fiery letters 
danced before his eyes. He tried vainly to arrange them 
properly until he thought he saw the frightful sentence 
from Dante’s Divine Comedy: “ All hope abandon, ye 
who enter here. . . .” 

“T should not have gone,” Otten soliloquized. ‘ One 
does not leave Rome for a whim, when he does not 
know when and how he is going to see it again.” 

Slowly the train traveled through the bowels of the 
mountain, that divides, yet joins, two worlds. And 
again light came. Gdschenen rested peacefully in its 
wintry dress. 

* Well,” said Otten to himself, rubbing his eyes. 
“There are people living behind the mountain, too. 
And the trip from Géschenen to Airolo is just as com- 
fortable as from Airolo to Géschenen. Did not Till 
Eulenspiegel experience the greatest of joy in climbing 
a steep mountain, because afterwards he would have 
the intense satisfaction of the descent, which was so 


94 THE ADVENTURER 


easy? Till to-day I feel that we are related in spirit. 
In this spirit I take the chance! ” 

And yet in Basle he talked himself into an interrup- 
tion of the trip. “Two nights in a sleeping-car are 
not absolutely necessary, if you are not bound by time. 
T’ll travel more comfortably with the early morning 
train to-morrow.” 

The frontier had again exercised a sobering influence 
upon him. 

* T am coming as husband and father,” he soliloquized 
ironically, awaiting the coming of morning in the bed 
of the hotel. “ And as the father of a daughter to 
boot, who, being almost fourteen, has a right to de- 
mand something from the example of that father in an 
educational sense. Have I reaily reached the point 
where one period of my life—and that not the most un- 
pleasant by any means—must be considered as closed? 
While one would like to continue it endlessly? While 
one still feels blood and marrow entirely different from 
the days of green and unknowing youth? While one 
only now—really only now—has learnt to understand 
what it means: ‘ If you don’t risk the life that seems so 
dear, you never will know life, I sadly fear! ’—Joseph, 
you are at the parting of the ways. Unprepared, as 
ever, and as you liked it in days gone by. Ye good 
gods, help. The worst and the most stupid, I carry 
secretly within my breast! ” 

The feeling of depression which had taken hold of 
him had not disappeared when he arose. ‘“‘ When I see 
the Rhine, it will be better,” he comforted himself. And 
again he looked out of the train window, hour after 
hour, and again his thoughts rushed backwards instead 
of ahead. Then he compelled himself to think of Maria, 


THE ADVENTURER 95 


of her silent eyes gleaming with happiness, of the wild 
joy of the child. Something hot rose within him. He 
must bring home to them a different mood. Resigna- 
tion had been stored sufficiently at home. Laughter 
should sound through the house, the laughter of three 
people, young and forever young. Even the deep basso 
of old Klaus should ring out joyfully. That must be 
the way, that way it should be. A jolly hour in Co- 
logne—and the ban would be broken. Yes, that was 
it. After a free and merry evening of preparation, he 
would be acclimatized. And then—to the old house of 
his forbears, in the Rheingasse. 

From the railroad station in Mainz he sent a tele- 
gram: “ Metardus Terbroich, Cologne, Ringstrasse. 
Arrive seven, Basle Express. Meet me at depot, Jo- 
seph Otten.” 

And all at once the unpleasant thoughts had van- 
ished. Now he would not enter Cologne as an invalid 
of life, after all. 

The train pulled up at Deutz. With his old 
elasticity, Otten leaped from his compartment, called a 
porter, gave him instructions to hold his luggage in 
the baggageroom, and turned toward Terbroich, who 
had followed these first movements with an expressive 
smile. 

“ Incognito, Joseph? ” 

“Only to-night. I don’t feel quite prepared yet, 
after so long an absence.” 

“JT understand. I and what follows are to be, so to 
speak, the first stations of the trip to Calvary. Now, 
what is the wish of the great maestro; what shall be 
done first of all?” 

“Then lead on to any spot where we will find the 


96 THE ADVENTURER 


unadulterated atmosphere of Cologne. I cannot get 
there too quickly.” 

* Unfortunately the Kélner Hianneschen Theater is 
closed.” 

“Take me to an inn of old Cologne, stupid! I can 
still taste the wine of the Roman Campagna on my 
tongue. Give me some Ko6lner Bierséuerling. That 
cools the thoughts.” 

** Have you left such hot ones behind? ” 

“You will have to master your curiosity. But, 
thank God, you at least have not changed.” 

“J had already decided to come to you. Especially 
when I read a dispatch in yesterday’s Cologne Gazette, 
saying that at an affair given by the ambassador you 
had been the object of great ovations. That must be 
glorious. Your ovations are matters of the heart. And 
such a Roman heart—my hand upon it, Joseph—the 
next time I will come! ” 

** You are a dandy,” Otten said with a laugh. “ Clear 
up your own territory.” 

“T have to take so many things into consideration. 
I hold so many little honorary offices. ‘Then one must 
not expose oneself too much. But even in the shade 
one can dine. Somebody must play the screen. Well, 
Joseph, these shall be glorious days, and carnival is 
coming to the door.” 

** It is announcing its arrival even now! ” 

Perched upon a blue mail-box hanging on the side of 
the house, a little boy sat, beating a rat-tat-tat with his 
wooden shoes, and singing lustily. A few others, 
scarcely at home in their first wooden shoes, danced and 
jumped about and joined the chorus with high-pitched 
voices: 


THE ADVENTURER 97 


“ Fastelowend kiitt eran ” (Ere the Lenten time be- 
gins). 

“In two weeks,” said Metardus Terbroich, stroking 
mustache and beard. “Come. We'll walk over the 
bridge-of-ships.” 

The bridge was crowded. Factories and offices had 
closed, and the people came across the bridge-of-ships 
in a long procession. At the toll-gate there was a 
stoppage. Those in the rear pushed. In the distance 
a steamer had sounded her whistle, and the central por- 
tion of the bridge was about to be taken out to allow 
the steamer’s passage. Those already on the bridge 
hurried to get across before the interruption, in spite 
of the scolding of the bridge-tenders. At the toll-gate 
a clerk complained importantly about the slowness with 
which the bridge money was taken. ‘“ Don’t lose your 
temper,” said the girl selling the bridge tickets, very 
quietly ; “it will injure your beauty.” A smile passed 
through the long line. “ You I could love,” said the 
next one at the window. And promptly came the an- 
swer: “ Well, I believe that myself.” 

In a side street opening upon the Domplatz the 
friends halted. ‘Shall we enter here?” Terbroich 
asked, and Otten said, “ Yes.” It was an old, plain 
house. Barrels were being rolled along the floor, the 
empty ones piled on the one side, the full ones placed 
on benches and tapped. There was no excess of polite- 
ness. The innkeeper and his assistants depended upon 
the irresistible attractions of their goods. 

The long, tunnel-like place was crowded. In the 
rear the habitués occupied their usual places, of whose 
occupancy they could give an annual account without 
a day lacking. They were solid citizens of Cologne, of- 


98 THE ADVENTURER 


ficials of every grade. In the front part of the place sat 
the casual guests, or the passers-by, who only came to 
drink a Schoppen or two, and at the same time to eat 
some Dutch cheese and a little roll of ryebread. Dif- 
ferences in station of life were not observed to any 
great extent. The public porter unceremoniously 
moved his chair beside that of the magistrate, the guest 
in blouse and workman’s cap drank his wine sitting be- 
side the man with shining silk-hat and fashionable 
frock-coat. Dense tobacco smoke floated in cloudy 
layers overhead. The waiters, in knit jackets, aprons, 
and leather belts, squeezed themselves through the nar- 
row aisles between the rows of seats, quickly replacing 
the empty Schoppen, and permitting no stoppage of 
business. And behind a little buffet upon a raised dais 
sat the stout wife of the innkeeper, with a quiet and 
self-reliant superiority, as if she was dispensing royal 
honors from her height. “The gentleman wants to 
pay, Pitter.” 

Otten and Terbroich found places at one of the small 
side-tables. With one thirsty draught Otten emptied 
his glass, shook himself, and called for another. “I 
believe that refreshes even my clothing.” 

“Do you remember?” said Terbroich, ‘when we 
drank our first beer as paying guests? We were in 
Sekunda, and we had captured a couple of girls on the 
ice, who were quite impressed by our school-caps. And, 
to appear as true cavaliers to them, we invited the ladies 
to have a bite with us, as if we were in the habit of 
taking our Schoppen daily at this hour. And our 
hearts were in our throats as we hunted up the mean- 
est little inn in the Altstadt. I led the way.” 

“And disappeared through the court-yard gate, 


THE ADVENTURER 99 


while we three poor souls tremblingly awaited the com- 
ing of the innkeeper. Oh, Metardus, you did not cover 
yourself with glory in that affair.” 

“You know I only wanted to get some money at 
home,” Terbroich defended his first adventure. 

“There certainly was none to be found at the spot 
to which you valiantly retreated.” 

* T climbed over the fence.” 

“ And then grinned through the window. And the 
day after I collected your debt with a good beating, as 
you declined to give other satisfaction.” 

“JT know nothing of that,” and, to give the con- 
versation another turn, Terbroich politely drank to 
the health of his boyhood friend. 

The two gentlemen had attracted the attention of the 
guests at the next table. Respectful glances were cast 
at them, and there was some whispering. The con- 
versation of the chief table stopped for a moment. 

Terbroich noticed it, and felt flattered. He assumed 
a position of dignified ease. “We are being recog- 
nized,” he said softly. 

Otten looked around. His laughing glance took in 
the round table, and several of the guests appeared 
about to greet him, but he was quicker than they. 

** Good-evening, gentlemen! ” : 

*‘ Good-evening, Herr Doktor,” came the friendly 
reply. 

One of the others raised his glass. ‘“ Ihr Wohlsein, 
Herr Doktor!” 

“Ts it permitted? ” Otten asked. 

“Great honor and pleasure both, Herr Doktor. 
We'll move our chairs together. There is room for us 
all on this earth.” 


100 THE ADVENTURER 


Otten turned his chair around and moved into the 
circle. “ That is what I call a cozy corner. You live 
well.” 

* Yes, yes, such a good glass of real Cologne even 
the Holy Father cannot offer you.” 

* But to make up for it, the drink there is free.” 

“ Tf that is all—Pitter, a round! ” 

Loud laughter rewarded the giver. ‘ You’ll pardon, 
Herr Doktor, but I am so glad to see Herr Doktor Ot- 
ten among us, that I don’t care if my bill is a thaler 
more.” 

By now Terbroich had also pushed his chair into the 
circle. “The Herr Doktor has come here especially 
from Rome, just to give you that pleasure.” 

“ Did he have to go there to pray for your redemp- 
tion? In that case, the next round is for Herr Ter- 
broich! ” 

Terbroich protested, but the order had already been 
given. 

* Now I’m feeling at home again,” said Otten. “ How 
can one forget all this out there! ” 

“ But we have not forgotten Doktor Otten at home.” 

“Usually the prophet does not count for much at 
home. ‘Those who have known you as a mischievous 
youngster consider it in most cases as beneath their 
dignity in after-life to alter their mental picture. For 
that reason, so many artists carry a clouded memory 
of their home with them throughout the world.” 

“That may be the case elsewhere, Herr Doktor. But 
we Cologners have always been proud of our artists. 
And in order to prove this to you, I call upon the gen- 
tlemen present here to raise their glasses with me, and 


join me in the call: Our Jupp—Herr Doktor Joseph 


THE ADVENTURER 101 


Otten—shall live. Hoch! Hoch! And once more 
hoch! ” 

The triple cheer sounded lustily across the table, was 
taken up, and continued at the other tables, and for 
a few seconds even the phlegmatic Wirthin arose from 
her throne in surprise. 

“ Now we'll sing,” shouted an enthusiast. 

But the rotund mistress of the place quietly and 
authoritatively vetoed the suggestion. 

“We must go on,” Terbroich whispered to Otten, 
who seemed inclined to make an evening of it there. 

“Why? We’re only beginning.” 

““T have something else up my sleeve for you.” 

* Something worth while? ” 

* More than worth while. You will be surprised how 
insignificant you will feel.” 

“Your insulting confidence could tempt me. I am 
in proper mood, Terbroich.” 

* T’ll bet my soul against yours! ” 

“What a joy for the devils!” 

“ Well, then, arise. Good-evening, gentlemen! You 
must excuse me for depriving you now of the presence 
of Herr Doktor Otten. We have some important busi- 
ness engagements to attend to.” 

* You’re fibbing like the very devil! Good-evening, 
Herr Doktor. Come again soon!” 

“Where to? ” Otten asked when they were in the 
street, as he pushed his slouch-hat back from his fore- 
head. “Man, that felt good. Such a spontaneous 
ovation goes right through a fellow’s blood, like the best 
of new wine. Take me wherever you please. But let 
there be joy at the feast.” 

* Do you remember Liittgen? Karl Liittgen? Who 


102 THE ADVENTURER 


went to school with us? Big rolling mills. A baron of 
industry. He often speaks of you.” 

“ Liittgen? Certainly! A fine fellow. If I remem- 
ber rightly, his wife died.” 

“He has married again. A girl from Berlin. Very 
distinguished person, so wise that a chap feels as if 
he must hide from her eyes. And small, elegant, flex- 
ible, sarcastic, and ” 

“Do not excite yourself.” 

“T cannot help it, whenever I look at her I am com- 
pelled to think of the temptation of Saint Anthony.” 

* But your name is Metardus, my son. De not for- 
get that.” 

“We will see whose head remains up the longest.” 

“Ts she young? ” 

“La femme de trente ans. The dangerous age.” 

“Spring chickens have never been to my taste. 
Women under thirty are not women. Are we going 
there?” 

**'We’re on the way.” 

* Unannounced? ” 

“They receive to-night. I have sent them word 
through Laurenz.” 

“Through your boy? Is he wearing long trousers 
so soon? ” 

“He? You will be surprised to see how he has de- 
veloped. He is sixteen. For a year past apprentice 
in my counting-room—a handsome chap, and turns the 
heads of all the girls.” 

“ He is your son,” Otten smiled. 

They took a carriage, and drove to the Hohenzollern- 
ring. Otten smoked his cigar to a finish. “ By the 
way—have you seen—my Carmen? ” 





THE ADVENTURER 103 


“Last Sunday in the Zodlogical Garden. Laurenz 
had called for her. I went there, too, on account of the 
pleasant weather. And I saw them promenade to- 
gether.” 

“The two probably are very good friends? ” 

* And each proud of the other. I tell you, every- 
body turns to look at them when they go walking to- 
gether.” 

“ A little early,” Otten muttered. He had the name 
of Maria on his tongue, but the carriage stopped. 

In the hall, a man-servant relieved the gentlemen 
of hats and coats. Otten glanced into a big mirror 
on the wall. “ Will this do? Not in evening-dress? 
Oh, well, qui vivra, verra.” 

In the big salon and the adjoining music-room sat 
the guests and listened to the playing of the piano. A 
woman sat at the grand piano. Her heavy brown hair 
was arranged in a low knot, the girlish figure dressed in 
an evening-gown of white with gold trimmings, whose 
wide sleeves disclosed well-shaped arms. She played a 
variation with considerable skill, and did not allow the 
arrival of the newcomers to disturb her in the least. 
Only when a slight stir in the assemblage told her that 
her guests were no longer listening, she ran her fingers 
over the keys, ending in a high chord. Her hands still 
on the keys, she remained seated, and slowly turned her 
head. 

“My dear Amely,” she heard the voice of her hus- 
band over her shoulder. “I have a surprise for you. 
It is only a schoolmate of mine, but, aside from that, 
he is also Doktor Joseph Otten.” 

The stout gentleman, whose reddened face told clearly 
the pleasure he felt at the unexpected visit, slapped his 


104 THE ADVENTURER 


guest upon the shoulder. There was a little quiver in 
the lady’s face. And the husband shamefacedly de- 
sisted from his show of friendship. ‘ My wife,” he in- 
troduced her. 

Joseph Otten bowed low. When he raised his head, 
he noted a surprised and searching look in the eyes 
of the lady of the house. Her glance ran down along 
his figure. 

“TI have to ask your pardon, gracious madam. I 
know this is not visiting-dress.” 

* The gracious madam will not be angry with me, for 
bringing Doktor Otten directly here from the railway 
station,” Terbroich chimed in. ‘“ To famous men, the 
law of exception applies.” 

* You come directly from the depot? ” 

* Not exactly. On the way I greeted my Cologners.” 

“My Cologners? Oh, I forgot. ‘It is the singer 
who with the king shall go.’ ” 

“ Madam,” Terbroich declared, “it was an ovation. 
Hardly had we entered the place——” 

“Why make your friend seem small?” she replied 
with playful irony. “I presume he knows how to 
value an ovation in an inn.” 

** T know how to value each true expression of feeling, 
madam.” 

* You live little in Cologne? ” 

“TI live in the world.” 

**OQh—and Cologne counts for you as one of the 
outposts.” 

“IT come from time to time to study.” 

“ Music? ” 

* People, gracious madam. Cologne is the center for 
types of every sort.” 


THE ADVENTURER 105 


For a moment she looked aside. “She has gray 
eyes,” Otten thought. “She wants to play with me. 
A gray eye—a clever eye——” 

“My husband,” the mistress of the house began, 
after a brief pause, “is already getting restless be- 
cause I deprive him of your society so long. Your 
friendship must be a tried one, that you hurry to him 
so quickly. In such matters my husband is touch- 
ingly old-fashioned. Friendship, love, Freilichrath, 
and Ruedesheimer. You have earned the right to all 
of it. I give you leave of absence for the time, Herr 
Doktor.” 

“My dear Joseph,” Liittgen said, pressing his 
friend’s arm heartily. He led him across the hall into 
the smoking-room, to escape from the crowd of guests. 
* You still permit my old-time familiarity, Joseph? In 
spite of my wife’s irony. I cannot talk smoothly. I 
am a manufacturer, and that is all. But that does not 
prevent me from saying that I am awfully glad to 
have a sensible being in my house once more. Say 
quickly what you will drink. Rhine? Mosel? Bor- 
deaux? Rhine wine—that is well. Mosel is a thing 
of fashion, but Rhine wine—well, we two do not 
need to tell each other anything about that. Pro- 
sit, Joseph! Here’s to our old friendship, as new as 
ever!” 

“ Prost, Liittgen’s Karl. You impress me!” 

“Oh!” The manufacturer jabbed Otten in the 
side. “Are you going to make fun of me, too? But 
if you knew how even in school I was attracted to you! 
Only I was too heavy and slow to be your real chum. 
And then—at my age a fellow is already old and use- 
less.” 


106 THE ADVENTURER 


“Oho! Pereat! Thus talks a newly wedded hus- 
band? ” 

“No, my dear Joseph! So says a young wife.” 

* You jest. A man like you—a baron of industry. 
Certainly not old and useless.” 

“JT cannot get accustomed to those new-fangled 
things. Drink, Jupp! That drop is not bad? Well, 
what I was going to say: Often I ask myself, am I suf- 
fering from softening of the brain since my second 
marriage? Am I really a dunce? We read a novel 
together. My wife is feverish from excitement. And 
I am almost ill from ennui, am bored to death. I con- 
sider the chap who wrote the thing an idiot, an ef- 
feminate fool. My wife considers him a demigod, a 
man of the highest culture, a man with the finest nerves 
and sentiments. Have I suddenly lost my power of 
judgment? Again, we listen to music—all Cologners 
are musical—well, am I telling that to you, you master 
soul? And then something sweeps our way, throws it- 
self at my head, ducks again, and turns my brain up- 
side down, and leaves me with a blow on the stomach; 
and my wife sobs in ecstasy: That is music! Those are 
thoughts transmuted into tones, that is concentrated 
genius! I am surely a modern man. Look at my fac- 
tory. Liittgen to the front! You can safely go to 
Communion on that. I have the most modern estab- 
lishment. But modern certainly does not mean hys- 
terical! Prost, Joseph! To drink a bottle of wine 
and appreciate it—even that is common now.” 

‘You do not understand each other? ” 

“My thousand workmen understand every word I 
say. To my wife my language is Chinese.” 

* That will adjust itself with time.” 


THE ADVENTURER 107 


* You think I complain? As you make your bed you 
must lie in it. And now I’m glad that I have you here. 
You must come often. We understand each other.” 

A number of gentlemen entered the room. “ Well! 
Well! We were feasting our ears in there, and here 
they are feasting on wine. Such duplicity!” 

“Tf you will be art critics, you must sacrifice to art. 
Hurry up! There is going to be a violin concert.” 

“ Liittgen, be charitable! A glass of wine and a 
cigar. Frau Amely is not looking.” 

A young, handsome chap stood in front of Otten. 
His dark, soft hair fell over his forehead, and his large, 
dark eyes showed consciousness of their beauty. “ Herr 
Doktor,” he said appealingly, “ you surely don’t recall 
me.” 

*T surely don’t.” 

* Laurenz Terbroich.” 

“ Oh—sprout of my friend Metardus? That is very 
nice. When one looks at you, one notices how the time 
passes, and that one is steering toward grandfather- 
hood.” 

“Tf I could change with you, I would give twenty 
years! Your successes in art and in life!” 

“That is the voice of my Metardus. You are a flat- 
terer, my young friend.” 

* Only an enthusiast. May I sit down with you? I 
should like to drink to your health! ” 

* Wohl bekomms! You are now in your father’s 
counting-room? ” 

‘“* For two years more, and then as volunteer to Paris 
and London. You were in Italy last, I hear? Are 
the Roman ladies really as beautiful as they say? ” 

“My boy, women are most beautiful, wherever they 


108 THE ADVENTURER 


appeal to our senses. They have boundless home- 
rights. And in that lies their beauty and their danger. 
Do you understand? ” 

“TI have the best of teachers,” the young chap an- 
swered daringly. 

“Then let me tell you: It is an insult to women to 
discuss their charms. Either one loves them, or does 
not. And that is the end of it.” 

* And if one loves them? ” 

“Then it still makes a difference who the lover is. 
Do not forget that. Good-evening, Herr Terbroich! ” 

The lady of the house peeped in through the por- 
tiéres. “Do you give lessons, too, in the knowledge 
of humanity, Herr Doktor? ” 

*T am not so assuming as to be more than a stu- 
dent, beautiful ‘ Hausfrau ’!” 

** Ah—beautiful ? From that one must con- 
clude, consistent with your method vs 

** You have been listening, madam? ” 

“TI have other bad manners, too, Herr Doktor! 
Please despise me.” 

“J admire your frankness so much, that a 

“ That ys 

* That I suspect a purpose behind it.” 

* What purpose could that be? To flirt with you? 
To have the famous gentleman pay a little court to 
me? I, like so many others, should be pleased.” 

**T am accustomed to advance independently in such 
matters, madam!” 

“T believe that, Herr Doktor, and victory has be- 
come your second nature.” 

“Tt must interest you very much to see such a 
victory.” 














THE ADVENTURER 109 


“ All daughters of Eve are anxious to see and learn. 
Be charitable. We are the inferior sex.” 

Otten bit his lip. “You desire?” he asked 
curtly. 

She laughed aloud. ‘ Proud manhood so soon in- 
sulted? ” 

“ Gracious madam,” Otten said with a bow, “I well 
know that in social circles everyone must add to the 
entertainment according to his gifts. If this con- 
versation is enough for you, I am at your service. 
Whether my talents will be sufficient—that depends 
upon what you are accustomed to.” 

“T fear to offend your taste too much,” and with a 
fine sarcastic smile and a deep obeisance, the lady with- 
drew through the portiéres into the salon. 

Otten’s blood rushed to his temples. What did that 
mean? Had he given this woman any cause, and how? 
With his unconventional dress? Or did she play the 
woman of cleverness and spirit, who enjoys seeing men 
grow weak? ‘And with those tender shoulders! This 
sensitive, nervous face! Really, this infamous contrast 
annoys me most of all.” 

* Joseph,” said the master of the house, stepping 
up with a full goblet, “I am going to ask a great 
favor of you.” 

* He’ll not do it,” Terbroich called out. ‘ The bet 
is won. He never sings where he is invited.” 

Otten shook off his feeling of anger. To allow that 
little mocking person to make a negligible quantity of 
him? That would be the first time. Now to sing or to 
drink! Very well, then, he would sing! 

Without an answer, without looking about, he walked 
through the salon and into the empty music-room. He 


110 THE ADVENTURER 


opened the Bechstein Grand. His fingers struck the 
keys. Dead silence reigned. Joseph Otten sang. 


* Nach Frankreich zogen zwei Grenadier’ . . .” 
He did not sing them, those grenadiers, he lived them. 
The complaints of the tired soldiers were overpowered 
by the unbroken rousing outbreak of the old cam- 
paigner. The torn and tattered figure in uniform was 
transformed into the man thirsty for the deed. 


* Was schert mich Weib, was schert mich Kind, 
Lass sie betteln gehn, wenn sie hungrig sind!” 


Like derisive, scornful laughter, it spread over the 
listeners, in their claw-hammer coats and silk gowns. 

He had finished. ‘The cover of the piano clapped 
down. And slowly Otten turned. Ere the spell un- 
der which the audience was held had been broken, Otten 
had stepped through the side-door into the hall, to ask 
for his hat and coat. 

The lady of the house stood beside him. 

* You will come again.” It sounded like an order. 

* Good-night, madam. You have too much spirit for 
an adventurer of my stamp.” 

* Do not talk.” 

** And too—tender shoulders.” 

“That I admit.” And her laughter sounded in his 
ears. 

* Good-night.” 

He walked down the stairs, tipped the servant, and 
wandered through the dark streets. “I am in Co- 
logne,” he said. Then he laughed harshly, to walk on 
with furrowed brow. ‘A fool awaits the answer.” 


CHAPTER VII 


Oup Klaus had the wakefulness of old age. The time 
of year made no difference to him. When the clocks 
in the steeples struck four, the old boatman’s instinct 
would stir within him, holding even now to the divi- 
sion of hours he had become accustomed to. He lit a 
light, saw that his watch kept time correctly, growl- 
ingly pulled on his trousers, and started the fire in the 
little stove. While the water for his coffee was being 
heated, he smoked his first morning pipe, and mused. 

This morning the water did not seem in a hurry to 
come to the boiling point. But the old man was in no 
hurry. He took a well-thumbed little volume from a 
shelf, where it occupied a convenient spot between pots 
and tobacco-box, fastened his glasses behind his ears, 
licked his broad thumb, and turned the pages of the 
book. And then he read, letter by letter, the history 
of his great ancestor, Nikolaus Guelich, dealer in rib- 
bons and drygoods in Cologne, of his heroic deeds, his 
wrong-doings, and his glorious end at the hands of the 
executioner in the public square, called in his honor the 
Guelichsplatz. With a smile of satisfaction on his with- 
ered old face, the old man thus held his morning service. 

Suddenly he pushed the glasses up on his forehead. 
Had not someone knocked on the window from with- 
out? And now the knock came again, softly but un- 
mistakably. 

The old man arose, carefully placed the book upon 

111 


112 THE ADVENTURER 


his seat, and slouched to the window. He opened it, 
and looked searchingly into the dark without. A man 
stood outside, his hat shading his face. 

“Who is there? ” 

* A poor traveling journeyman begs shelter.” 

“T believe you are drunk. This is no lodging- 
house.” 

“By Saint Christopher, the patron saint of all 
wanderers, let me in, Klaus.” 

“By the Blessed Virgin, our Jupp! But now 
quick!” 

Quietly, so as not to disturb the sleepers above, he 
went to the front door, opened carefully, and let the 
master enter. And softly he also closed the door of his 
room, when both were in there. Joseph Otten threw 
cloak and hat upon the bed, stepped to the stove, and 
rubbed his hands. The old man looked on. 

** Morning, master.” 

** Morning, Klaus.” 

‘“* Have we really the pleasure again? ” 

“You have the pleasure again.” Joseph Otten 
turned about, looked into the old man’s face, jerked 
his head toward the ceiling, and asked, “ All well 
above? ” 

* Everything in the best of order.” 

** Am glad to hear it.” 

“You could not say less than that. But I could 
have given you that assurance by writing, Herr 
Doktor.” 

* Probably you are all very angry with me? ” 

“T can’t say that. People get used to everything.” 

“Then there might be no reason for me to disturb? ” 

“If you only come to disturb, that is not necessary.” 


THE ADVENTURER 113 


Joseph Otten again silently turned toward the stove. 
The water in the kettle bubbled, and filled the room with 
its sing-song. And silently old Klaus took his coffee 
urn from the shelf, raised the kettle with his horny 
hands, and brewed the morning drink. He placed two 
large earthen cups upon the table, cut some slices from 
a loaf of rye bread, pushed a chair and his low seat 
over to the table, and turned to his guest. “ Take a 
seat, Herr Doktor.” 

Joseph Otten looked up. The odor of the coffee was 
tempting after the long walk in the night. Then his 
glance fell upon the old man. ‘“ Klaus,” he said, grasp- 
ing him by the shoulders, “‘ don’t be so cross, or you 
send me to the devil.” 

* This is your house.” 

“It doesn’t seem much like it, from the reception I 
get.” 

** My back is too stiff to risk a bow. But if I had 
known that the Herr Doktor was coming, I might have 
trained.” 

* Next time [’ll telegraph to you, Klaus.” 

“That would do no harm. Otherwise one never 
knows, is it the master or is it a thief.” 

Joseph Otten sat down on Klaus’s seat, and warmed 
his hands at the wide-bellied cup. ‘ Donnerwetter, 
Klaus, that coffee is not strained.” 

** No, sir, it is as black as the ace of spades.” 

* That brings me to other thoughts.” He bent over, 
and took the little volume from under him. ‘ What 
have we here? ” 

Klaus chuckled. ‘ Have you forgotten that? You 
have been sitting on my history.” 

“The book of your forbear, Nikolaus Guelich.” 


114 THE ADVENTURER 


“ The selfsame, Jupp. And I see that you are still 
the same fine old boy. And that is a joy for me.” 

“Tell me the story of that forbear, Klaus. Is he 
still doing stunts at the Guelichsplatz? ” 

* He has left home and now graces Paris, since the 
Frenchmen were mean enough to steal the bronze head 
from his statue. And so Cologne is the poorer by its 
greatest and most famous landmark.” 

** When we march on Paris again, we will fetch that 
head back.” 

* That is a go, master. The Guelichsplatz shall come 
to honor again.” 

“You are entitled to that, Klaus.” 

“The world has lost all its respect for things,” 
grumbled the old man, and drank his coffee. 

Otten sat with his hands between his knees and 
waited. Several minutes passed. There was a quiver 
in his face when he spoke. 

* It seems to me that now, having talked over your 
family affairs, we can come to mine. You say my 
wife and child are well Mie 

“The lady is as ever. Upright and at her task. 
One need not remind her of anything.” 

* And Carmen? ” 

** She has had her first Holy Communion. A girlie 
as straight as a pine. She is hard to understand. 
Correct and proud, and a young lady every inch of 
her; and yet again a child, with her head full of queer 
ideas and stubbornness, when it suits her; and then 
again as mild as a lamb. Her father exactly.” 

“ Her father exactly? Then she probably is not so 
very bad.” 

** T don’t know about that.” 





THE ADVENTURER 115 


“ Klaus,” said Joseph Otten, “now tell the truth. 
Do you really think me so very bad? ” 

“ Jupp,” the old man answered, “ yes and no. You 
see, a fellow don’t need to be really bad, but he may 
appear so. And there are people who feel sorry when 
a person whom they would like to admire as a sort 
of archangel, is considered nothing but a merry Prince 
Carnival. And that is a pain they feel to the very 
bottom of their heart. Yes, it is just like that. And 
it is harder still for those who have the sorrow, because 
they know it is not so, and that they cannot spread 
their knowledge broadcast—simply, well—simply be- 
cause Jupp will not have it that way.” 

*T will not have it?” 

“No, not for anything in the world! He can’t un- 
derstand that the love of the woman is her anxiety 
for the man. And why can’t he understand it? Be- 
cause if he did, he would at once take the sorrow and 
care away from the wife. But care—that is nothing 
for Jupp. That word his vocabulary of life does not 
contain. One can’t roam about the world with it. 
And he thinks it is more knightly not to ask things 
beforehand.” 

Joseph Otten sat bent forward. His hands were 
stroking his knee mechanically. 

** You do not understand it, Klaus.” 

* No, no, I am an old dunce.” 

“I did not say anything of the sort. On the con- 
trary, you are more than right in what you say. You 
have given me a lecture; and no weak attempt at it, 
either. All the world is lecturing me now. And every- 
body seems to think that my head is just like his. But 
that is the mistake,” 


116 THE ADVENTURER 


“Heads are heads. Only, one man combs his hair 
differently from another.” 

‘TI think the individual cannot help it. God makes 
his hair grow this way or that.” 

“Or the devil.” 

For a while silence reigned between the two men. The 
steps of a few people going to early Mass passed the 
house. An apprentice ran past, whistling. From the 
distance came the rumbling of moving wagons. Then 
it was silent again. 

**T am as God made me,” Otten finally said. ‘“‘ You 
eannot change things.” His look met that of the old 
man. “Don’t look at me so pityingly. A fellow 
has a right to live as he will, if it causes him no re- 
morse.” 

The old man gathered up the tableware. 

** My brother at Zons will not live much longer,” he 
remarked casually. 

‘Your brother? Who owns the little house in 
Zons? ” 

* He’s past eighty.” 

* Then you’ll be a houseowner? ” 

** Somebody must take hold of the property. You 
can’t rent anything in Zons. There are not enough 
people in the little town.” 

**'Then you think of moving over there? ” 

“T want a quiet evening of life.” 

* Much water will run down the Rhine till then. The 
Guelichs are a hearty lot. Your brother will keep 
agoing a few years longer. And until then you remain 
here, chained, and barking at the burglars.” 

“T only wanted to tell you about it. Things like 
that happen overnight.” 


THE ADVENTURER 117 


“ And at the same time, you would like to put the 
chain gently on me? ” 

“Those are no concerns of mine. Whoever owns a 
house must know what to do.” 

* Well, let’s wait,” Otten said, rising. “It is past 
five. I should like to hunt up a bed.” 

“Shall I announce you to the mistress? So she 
will not be frightened? ” 

*T’ll go to the hotel. Ill be back before noon. 
Now, since I know that all is well.” 

“You know that, but the lady does not know it, as 
far as you are concerned.” 

Joseph Otten took his coat and pressed his hat into 
his forehead. “Ill come in daylight, Klaus. When 
the sun is shining, all things look friendly.” 

“That need not worry you, as far as your wife is 
concerned. It is her due not to be kept biash tn Not 
for a minute. I am going to call her.” 

* You will not. Ill upset the house ental’ as it 

14," 
“You don’t say! And what do you call it when 
the husband passes the wife’s chamber? That means 
no disturbance? Oh, no! That is kindness and con- 
sideration. It never is consideration of the comfort of 
the lady. It is consideration of one’s own dear self. 
Hotel! Not one step!” 

Otten’s face was flushed. He grasped the latch and 
opened it. ‘ Morning, Klaus,” he said haughtily. 

“Then unlock the door yourself.” 

* Do not raise a disturbance.” 

Angrily Otten released the latch. The sound went 
through the old house. Otten stood in the dark hall 
and listened. Upstairs a door opened softly. Careful 


118 THE ADVENTURER 


?” a voice 





steps came to the stairs. ‘“ Klaus 
called. 

Old Klaus came out of his room. “ Yes, Frau Ot- 
ten? ” 

“Ts there anyone with you? It has seemed so to 
me for some time.” 

“ Maria »’ Otten said softly, and his voice 
trembled. 

Breathless silence filled the house to the gable. Old 
Klaus quietly disappeared in his room. And, after 
a lengthy pause, Otten asked, “Are you there 
still? ” 

* Wait, I am coming.” And the soft steps left the 
stair end. 

* No,” said Otten, “I am coming.” And slowly he 
walked up the stairs to the gable room. The door was 
ajar, and through the narrow opening fell the light of 
the lamp. And within the room, bathed in the light, 
stood Maria, fastening with trembling fingers the morn- 
ing-gown she had thrown on. Then he entered. 

She dropped her hands, raised her head, and looked 
at him. Her face was as white as snow. 

And he stood there, and felt her look, and felt that 
his face was burning. 

** Like a thief in the night, Maria.” 

“You have come.” 

“We will not kill a fatted calf. The part of the 
prodigal son is unbecoming to me. I have come.” 

Now he noticed her intense paleness. “I have sur- 
prised and frightened you.” 

She placed her hands in his. Her looks still clung to 
his face. “ Are you well? ” 

“ You dear motherly creature,” he said, drawing her 





THE ADVENTURER 119 


nearer to him. “ Do I have to be ill in order to come 
home? ” 

* T had almost—hoped it eo 

“ Maria !—And if I were? ” 

“ Lie down, Joseph. We will talk more by day.” 

*Won’t you kiss me? ” 

“JT thought—you would , 

* Come ” ‘That was all he said... . 

He felt her lips tremble. Then he kissed her eye- 
lids very gently. They also were quivering. “ Don’t 
you trust yourself, Maria? Have I grown so strange 
to you? ” 

She shook her head. “It is probably the joy. I 
don’t grasp it yet.” 

“The joy? I have not spoiled you through over- 
attention. It is a reproach, and I deserve it.” 

“No, no!” And suddenly she pulled his head down 
to her and kissed him long and tenderly upon the mouth. 
* Welcome home, Joseph!” 

** Will you keep me here? ” 

* You shall promise nothing.” 

* All right, I will not. I will but wish. For your 
sake and for Carmen’s.” 

** She has not remained a child.” 

**T will be needed all the more.” 

“The father is needed, Joseph.” 

“Yes, I suppose I’ll have to think of that now. I 
believe I have to make up for lost time here. And not 
only in the réle of the father. If I could only make 
these eyes shine again!” 

“They don’t always look thus. Let daylight come.” 

“They do when they have wept. And that you re- 
serve for the night. When you are lying alone, Maria, 











120 THE ADVENTURER 


and thinking of a man who is unworthy of it. I see it. 
And you have wept this night, too.” 

“JT felt as if you were so near that I could grasp 
you. That must have been because you were com- 
ing.” 

“T arrived last evening, Maria.” 

A shiver as if from frost went through her. “ Last 
—evening.” 

He quickly placed his arm about her. “I should 
not have told you.” 

* You cannot lie.” She passed her hands across her 
eyes. ‘I always liked that about you.” 

** Sit down, Maria. I will try to explain it to you.” 

“No,” she said, “ that would be against the agree- 
ment. You are your own master. That I pledged 
when I went with you of my own free will. And the 
fact that I have now carried your name lawfully for 
three years ought not to have made me smaller. Big- 
ger, Joseph, bigger. To carry your name means 
duties.” 

** Which I leave you alone to bear.” 

* You can safely leave them to my care. I will never 
let you feel that you have bound yourself.” 

** But I will make you feel it.” 

Now she had to smile, after all. ‘‘ You big boy,” she 
said, stroking his hair. ‘“ Always those good inten- 
tions, the best of resolutions. I must love you if for 
that alone.” 

“Only for that?” 

She closed her eyes. “Do not ask me. Am I not 
glad? ” 

Then he embraced her tenderly and looked away over 
her head, so that she gave way to her emotions. .. . 


THE ADVENTURER 121 


“Shall we visit Carmen now? ” 

“She sleeps late,” she said, furtively drying her 
eyes. “Really one ought not to visit such big young 
ladies while they’re in bed.” 

Tt seems that I must make myself respected anew 
in that quarter!” 

“Step softly. We'll go to her room.” 

She took the lamp and walked ahead. And while he 
followed, he wondered at her self-control, and it flashed 
through him like pride that this woman was his alone. 
He touched her shoulder and she looked back at him. 
For a second her foot remained where it was. And he 
bent forward with begging eyes, braced her arms that 
held the lamp, and waited. Then she leaned her head 
against his bosom. Thus they kissed. 

They stepped softly into the chamber, and he looked 
about with questioning eyes. He hardly recognized his 
child. Beauty and selfwill were there, and self-assur- 
ance reigned supreme. ‘The man at the bedside thought 
of the words of old Klaus. 

“She will be very self-reliant,’ Frau Maria said, 
when they were again outside. ‘ One would like to keep 
children small.” 

“ Be glad that she is growing up so healthy. The 
breed cannot be downed.” 

*T am not mourning that,” said Frau Maria. “ It 
is something else. Something for which I can hardly 
find words. The mother feels that the child is growing 
more and more out of her care.” 

* Yes,” Otten replied thoughtfully. “It must be a 
tragedy for parents to look on while a part of them- 
selves becomes an entity of its own.” 

“If both parents live, it is not so very hard. They 


122 THE ADVENTURER 


only draw a little closer together and cover up the 
gap. Well, well, years will go by before that comes to 
pass.” 

“Until we draw closer together? ” 

“ Before the parents’ tragedy, as you call it, will 
come to us.” Frau Maria placed the light upon the 
table in her chamber. “ You look tired, Joseph. I 
will leave you alone now.” 

* You surely do not believe that I could go to sleep 
now?” 

* Do it to please me. When you awaken you will 
really be at home, and the old dream pictures will be 
banished into the corners. Try it.” 

“The old dream pictures? Old or new, they shall 
not follow me under my own roof.” 

* Do it, to please me,” she begged again. 

“If you wish it so much But [’ll only lie down 
on the old couch over there. And afterwards I'll take 
a bath.” 

“T will awaken you, Joseph.” 

“No,” he said. ‘“ There is another condition con- 
nected with it. You will have to sit beside me. I 
can’t go to sleep at once. I want to feel your hand 
in mine.” 

* That is just as if you needed a silent absolution.” 
A slight motherly smile passed over her features. 
** Now lie down.” 

He took off his coat and stretched himself upon the 
old leather sofa. ‘“ Ah,” he yawned, “ how good this 
is!” And she covered him up, took a chair, and sat 
down beside him. 

* Silent absolution * he took up her words, softly 
taking her hand. “You have hit it, Maria. There 








THE ADVENTURER 123 


will be little occasion to announce it publicly and 
proudly, for it will be a very silent confession.” 

“Sleep,” she said. ‘“ You have nothing to confess. 
When you open your eyes later, you will laugh at your- 
self.” 

“It is always the same. You never take into con- 
sideration how you are placed. You only seek to 
make things easy for me.” 

*“Who knows the motive? Perhaps I am a bigger 
egotist than you imagine. Perhaps I only make things 
so easy for you in order not to make them harder for 
myself.” 

“If you keep on, you’ll convince me yet that you 
are the sinner and I am the saint.” 

“No, Joseph, I will not talk you into that. Your 
saintliness *—she smiled as she spoke—“‘I certainly 
am not aware of. And mine—in the many years that 
I have sat alone, I have learned to look after myself, so 
that my emotions do not run wild at every chance. 
That is my saintliness.” 

“You are ten times as strong as I.” 

“Ten times as weak—or else I would not need such 
a safeguard.” 

“And if you did not have it? What would have 
happened then? ” 

Her eyebrows drew together. Her bosom rose, as 
if she tried to shake off a load. 

“ Let that be, Joseph.” 

“Tell me,” he said, stroking her hand. 

“What would have happened then, if you had come 
home, as you did just now—and I had admitted you 
to my chamber? I would have thrown myself at you, 
on your neck, without shame, without pride! Like one 


124 THE ADVENTURER 


starving, I would have thrown myself on the neck of 
my husband. O God!” 

Excitement shook her. She arose and walked to the 
corner of the room. “ Be still,” she said. “Do not 
answer. What would become of me if I should lose 
my self-control? What would become of all of us? 
And, one thing I want to have apart from the others— 
that crowd around you—myself!” 

She had regained her even temper and returned. 
“You see, Joseph, how I keep myself—and keep 
house.” 

“Tt is like Christmas,” Otten said, “ when I was a 
child. I had been in mischief all the year round. Be- 
fore the holidays I’d look pious, would experience real 
remorse for my misdoings, and for that slight effort 
my lap would be filled with beautiful presents.” 

** And then, like a real boy, you loved to play with 
the toys that did not belong to you.” 

“Yes, I did, and the habit has stuck to me.” 

“Tt is the fault of the people,” she defended him. 
* They have spoiled you, with or without your will.” 

“The scamps!” Otten said. ‘They will not have 
the artist different. They make a fellow what he is by 
their confounded slavery. Stay with me, Maria. 
One’s own Christmas table is the best, after all. Self- 
sacrificing love floats over it.” 

* Now you must sleep, Joseph.” 

“O Maria, it feels so good to haul others over the 
coals, when one does not feel quite clean oneself.” 

Then he looked at her stealthily while he lay there, 
breathing regularly. The years had touched her 
gently. Around the eyes a few scarcely visible wrinkles, 
at the corners of the mouth the furrows slightly deep- 


THE ADVENTURER 125 


ened—but the erect bearing of the body and the seri- 
ous poise of her whole self drew the glance from the 
details to the entire picture, and it was a pleasing one. 
He pressed her hand tenderly, obeying a warm impulse. 

* You, too, have had battles to fight, Maria. And 
they were harder than mine, because you fought them 
alone.” 

‘TI have reported to you regularly, Joseph.” 

“Yes, when you could write. That matter is now 
arranged, or—it is not worth while to talk about it.” 

“Tt certainly is fortunate that I have something 
to do.” 

“That is your way of getting out of saying, ‘ some- 
thing to worry about.’ I will not speak about myself. 
But Carmen? Has she caused*you much trouble? ” 

“ She is at the age that makes the greatest demands 
upon all mothers. Why should I be excepted? ” 

** Did she look pretty when she went to her first com- 
munion? ” 

Frau Maria smiled. ‘ You are a vain being.” 

“* And there were no obstacles placed in your path? ” 

* On account of the confirmation? No.” 

* Not for the child. But for the mother? ” 

“OQ Joseph,” Frau Maria said, looking away. 
“What of that? That cannot change matters. Surely 
I do not allow outside influences to unbalance the life 
which I once considered beautiful, and later on worth 
living. Be undisturbed. I do not call that black to- 
day which I called white yesterday.” 

“Did the church go hard with you? ” 

“The parish priest came to the house frequently. 
Then, now and again. Finally he staid away. When 
he found he could alter nothing, it did not pay.” 


126 THE ADVENTURER 


“It did not pay,” Otten said. ‘“ And all that lies 
between is disposed of. How big that must seem to 
you which you consider worth while.” 

She did not answer. She felt that her tears would 
start with the first word. And then—the night was 
past. The day meant other demands upon her. And 
especially this day. She would have doubled mother- 
duties—toward the child, growing into womanhood, and 
toward the man who would not and could not outgrow 
his youth. 

She bent over him. He had fallen asleep. He lay 
there so quietly, as if there was no storm that held 
danger for him—as if he was sure of his guardian. 
Boyish peace was mingled with the daring character 
of his features. And Frau Maria thought: This is 
one of the hours in which he belongs entirely to me— 
he and his restless soul. Now I hold him within my 
hands. .. . 

Daylight peeped in between the curtains. Frau 
Maria had dreamt. She sa‘y the man to whom she had 
given herself without recall, fifteen years younger. The 
reviver of German song, he went out into the world, 
and she, intoxicated with happiness, was by his side. 
Spring ‘ad entered the countries through which they 
trave.c, .ad spring had entered her heart. No mortal 
had lived through such blooming, such sprouting, such 
blossoming as she. As she! As she! That could not 
be wiped from the slate of life without destroying the 
very life itself. And the woman read in the features 
of the sleeper there, and read, and read again, the story 
of the springtime of her life, dreaming in the remem- 
brance, filled with thanks that she had such a treasure- 
store. 


THE ADVENTURER 127 


As the interpreter of German song he had gone out 
—as artist he had returned. 

No. That was not the fulfillment of all her hopes. 
And yet of the best of them. He found his way home 
to her. Aside from that, let him be what he was. “I 
only know that I must love him forever.” 

There was a stir in Carmen’s room. The woman 
heard the door open. And gently she took her hand 
out of that of the sleeper, arose, and walked out of the 
room. 

* Good-morning, mother. It has grown late.” 

* Good-morning, child. Drink a glass of hot milk. 
Just think, I have forgotten the coffee.” 

“ But, mother! And how you look! Like a young 
girl!” 

“ Like an old, dreaming woman.” 

** Are they happy, too?” 

“To be able to rest, child, is always beautiful, when 
one has something worth while to look back to.” 

She remained with her daughter till Carmen started 
on her way to school. A girlish blush mounted her 
cheeks as she softly returned to her own room. “ She 
shall see her father only fresh and radiant,” she con- 
fessed to herself. ‘ That may be vanity. Still, I wish 
it so. It requires the eyes of the woman to retain - 
always the same picture of the man. The eyes of the 
woman whose life-history is blended with that of the 
man.” 

Silently she resumed her former seat, took the sleep- 
er’s hand in hers, and listened to his deep regular 
breathing. She sat there like a nurse, wishing and 
seeking nothing but the convalescence of the patient. 
* For I love him only,” she whispered to herself. 


CHAPTER VIil 


For two days Joseph Otten had not left his house 
in the Rheingasse. A pleasant feeling of weariness had 
come over him, had taken hold of body and spirit alike, 
and had produced that condition of the most complete 
enjoyment of everything, which the convalescent experi- 
ences, when, during momentary weakness, he feels the 
influx of new strength, the gathering of new power. 
The first meeting with Carmen after his return had 
been somewhat of a surprise to him. He was reluctant 
to concede that it had also been a disappointment. The 
burst of joy at the first moment that had delighted him, 
had all too quickly been lost in her interest for current 
topics of every kind. To her, the father seemed merely 
a visitor, upon whom there was no counting. The 
daughter nodded cordially to him, but had little inclina- 
tion to come to him with her wishes, and it was plain 
that she had ceased to consider whether her actions 
would please him or not. 

* You wild creature,” Otten thought, “I’ll win you 
again.” And for the time being he contented himself 
with watching the grace of the girl and the rapid 
changes of her temper; both pleased him. “I have 
christened her correctly,” he soliloquized with silent joy. 
“Carmen! A song! In every phase the name fits. 
Now a naive song of the people, a Volkslied; then a 
wild and glorious song of triumph; soon—who knows 
how soon—a passionate song of love Well, the 

128 





THE ADVENTURER 129 


master will come who will tune her thought to the right 
harmony. Only he must have much patience, for the 
material there is as brittle as it is valuable.” 

On the evening of the second day, Otten sat alone in 
the dusk-filled room, when Carmen, returning from a 
walk, entered. 

* Hello, little one! ” 

“Goodness, how you frightened me. Is it ‘you, 
father? ” 

“Have you a bad conscience? Come a little closer? ” 

* You cannot see me, anyway. It is quite dark.” 

“Oh, you are figuring on that? But I will do as 
did the old king who had taken a young wife, and who 
pursued the lovesick page whom he found in front of 
her door.” 

“That is jolly.” 

“No, it is very sad, but I will tell it to you at any 
rate, so that you will see that things cannot be hidden. 
When the lovelorn boy had fled into the dormitory and 
pretended to be asleep amidst the other pages, the wise 
old king walked from one to the other, and placed his 
hand on the heart of each one. And when he came to 
the culprit he found a heart that was beating very 
violently. ‘Have I found you?’ said the wise old 
king, and took the page by the ear.” 

* Outch, father!” 

* Outch, my dear, let that. be a lesson to you. The 
old, wise kings still live.” 

She grasped his hand that held her ear-lobe. “ The 
old king was so wise just because he, too, had once 
been a page.” 

“Look here! Look here! No such logic, if you 


please.” 


130 THE ADVENTURER 


* And you, too, were once a page. Else you would 
not know all that.” 

“But by and by one becomes ashamed of one’s 
tricks during the page period. And that I regret I 
do not see in you.” 

“Father,” she laughed softly, pressing her head 
against his sleeve. “I, too, would like to place my 
hand on your heart for once! ” 

“Will you be still! It certainly is lucky that it is 
dark Girlie, I almost think it would have been 
better if you had been a boy.” 

* Then I could have been your comrade.” 

He grasped her tighter in his arms. ‘“ Would you 
have enjoyed that? To roam through the world with 
your father? ” 

* You with the mandolin, father, and I with the tam- 
bourine. And not a soul that could boss us!” 





“In the evenings when I’m thirsty, 
To the jolly inn I go!” 


Otten hummed. “ The stars studding the sky call us to 
new unknown regions, and we whisper still dreaming— 
to-morrow we will come to you!” 

* Oh, father id 

* Do you love me, daughter dear? ” 

“T do again, now. Now you are not treating me as 
a little girl. Is that really very proper? ” 

** And why not?” he asked in surprise. 

** Well, you have never been home. I can be real con- 
fidential with mother. I can hardly explain to you just 
what I mean. But, somehow, I have always felt that 
we two belong together. Do you understand me? ” 





THE ADVENTURER 131 


“You little silly child,’ he said, raising her chin 
and kissing her. ‘I belong to you, too.” 

She did not answer. But she twined her arms around 
his neck, and jumped on his knee. 

* Well, such a big baby, after all? And such a tall 
young lady, too? ” 

* Nobody can see it! I am so glad that you are 
here.” 

* All at once? I had already lost hope.” 

Oh, you! You never lose hope. You are such a 
famous man, you have a magic wand.” 

“IT suppose you would like to have one, too? ” 

“Tam terribly proud of you. I always listen when 
the people talk about you. And they always talk so 
interestingly about you.” 

*“* Now, now,” he said doubtingly. 

“Oh, you can believe me. And I know that all the 
girls are jealous of me, on your account.” 

“ Flatterer,” Otten growled. ‘“ You only flatter so 
nicely, because you want to please me.” 

** Did you meet princesses, too? Or don’t they take 
any interest in us? ” 

“My dear child,” Otten said. ‘ Everybody seeks 
in his simplicity that which is not for him. When we 
frame a fairy-tale, it must be of a princess, and when 
a princess dreams a fairy-tale, it must be about a 
gooseherd. But when we have the princess before us, 
we are disillusioned.” 

* When is that to be? ” 

“When that beautiful simplicity vanishes. When 
we begin to see, and when the envious day takes the 
toy out of our hands. Whoever has not got his senses, 
then, keeps on running after fairy-tales. There are 


132 THE ADVENTURER 


ever so many princesses and ever so many gooseherds.” 

* Tell me some of it!” 

“Child, those things are not talked about. Little 
girls must be content with Lenten food.” 

“T am not a little girl.” 

“Beg pardon, miss! But I was not aware that I 
should have to treat you differently as a young 
lady.” 

Suddenly she laughed to herself. 

** And what is the matter now, mademoiselle? ” 

“Oh, a story just occurred to me when you were 
talking of Lenten food. Old Klaus told it to me.” 

“So, so. One of old Klaus’s stories. Is it a pious 
one? ” 

“Tt is about a monk in a monastery in the Seven 
Mountains. I can’t think of his name just now.” 

““Cxsarius von Heisterbach? ” 

“That is it. Shall I tell you the story? ” 

“You seem very anxious to. And it is very pious? 
Well, Pll see.” 

* Just listen, father. Once upon a fastday, there 
came to the dean of Sankt Andreas some monks, whom 
he invited to dinner. But as there happened to be no 
fish in the house, he said to his cook, ‘ We have no fish 
to-day, but as they are plain brothers, and as they are 
hungry, meat willdo. But you must take out the bones 
carefully, and beat it and knead it, so that it will look 
like halibut. Then you put a lot of pepper on it, and, 
when you serve it, you say: May God bless this *but for 
all of you.’ ” 

* Carmen, Carmen 

“The cook did exactly as he had been bidden, and 
the food tasted very good to the brothers. The pious 


122 





THE ADVENTURER 133 


deceit remained undiscovered, for although the fish had 
a peculiar taste, it was anything but disagreeable. 
They did not wish to ask if it happened to be a salt- 
water fish, brought here from the ocean, for none of 
them wished to accuse their host of an untruth. But, 
when the bottom of the dish was reached, one of the 
monks gathered up with his spoon the ear and another 
the snout of a pig. Smilingly they looked at one an- 
other, showing their find, but the dean said, apparently 
angered, ‘ Eat on, in the name of God. Monks should 
not be inquisitive. Some fishes have ears and snouts, 
too!’ ” 

“ Well, and?” Otten laughed until the tears ran 
down his cheeks. 

“Then they ate both the ears and the snout with- 
out anguish of mind,” the girl closed her narrative, 
and her silvery laughter mingled with that of her 
father. 

** And the application in my case? For that is what 
you were aiming at, I am sure!” 

* Monks and little girls should not be inquisitive.” 

“'That’s correct! Surely, that’s correct! ” 

* And, therefore, you can safely tell me all the stories 
you wish to. I shall think - 

“ Well, what will you think? ” 

“J will think it’s—fish! ” 

“You wild little monkey!” And Otten grasped 
her by the head. ‘“ You are a little too clever! Is that 
your daughter, Joseph Otten?” 

He rocked her on his knee, and hummed as if it were 
a cradle-song: 





“ Once I had a comrade, a better you'll not find!” 


134 THE ADVENTURER 


Frau Maria brought in the lamp and fixed the shade. 
She looked in surprise upon the strange scene, herself 
enveloped in a glow of reddish light. 

** And what in the world are you two doing there in 
the dark? ” 

* We’re teaching each other, Maria. You can come 
and take part, too.” 

“ Take part in the lessons of you two hot-heads? I 
have to keep sober for the three of us.” : 

“That is thoroughly appreciated here, House-angel. 
But surely I must do something, too, toward the edu- 
cation of my daughter!” 

She looked about the room for her sewing. In pass- 
ing, her hand stroked his hair, with a silent, loving 
touch, like the hand of a mother. 

On the next day, quite unexpectedly, Moritz 
Lachner appeared. He was excited, and his eyes 
shone. 

“JT was so anxious to bid the Herr Doktor wel- 
come.” 

“Did you hear of my arrival so soon?” Otten said 
in surprise. 

“Last night, through Herr Guelich.” 

“Through Herr Guelich? Let me see. . . . Oh, 
yes, you mean Klaus, of course. Take a seat, my boy. 
It is very nice of you to think of me so soon. But 
don’t you have to attend school this afternoon? ” 

“This morning I passed my Abiturium. The verbal 
part was dispensed with.” 

“Well! Well! That is great! Your hand! My 
hearty congratulations! This morning! And _ then 
you came here at once? You thought of us at such a 
time? Sit down, and be welcome!” 


THE ADVENTURER 135 


Frau Maria, too, added her hearty congratu- 
lations. “And where do you intend to go now, 
Moritz? ” 

“'To Bonn, Frau Doktor.” 

“To Bonn ” Otten repeated. ‘And then again, 
more softly, “To Bonn Boy, boy, how musical 
those words are! The entire room is as if it were filled 
of a sudden with the odors of May. I see the old toll, 
and I, myself, am leaning again on the old wall, a dozen 
bright-colored caps about me, and we are singing to 
the old Father Rhine, to the Seven Mountains, with 
their sunken romance of the past, and no one knows 
whether we are full of sweet youth or full of sweet wine. 
But, then, that is all one and the same thing! It is 
far more important that the linden trees are giving 
forth their beautiful odor as of yore, ‘beim 
Aennchen’ at Godesberg. Lindenwirthin, ever young. 
Moritz, this has never happened to me before. To-day 
I envy a human being! ” 

“TI intend to study history, Herr Doktor.” 

“Tt is well that you have made up your mind. But 
whatever you are studying is immaterial just now. 
That you are studying! And that you are studying at 
Bonn!” 

“Now I am doubly glad, Herr Doktor. I should 
like to have studied with you at Bonn.” 

“Do not wish that, my boy. Only the yet-to-be is 
of value. At best you would be, as I am to-day—more 
foolish by a lifetime.” 

“No, Herr Doktor. Instead of the yet-to-be, I 
would have the days of the asc in their wealth. You 
possess them.” 

“Come, let’s have a good morning tramp. It is 








136 THE ADVENTURER 


too early yet to drink, but somewhere we will find an 
opportunity to wet the mulus.” 

** Will you remember me to Carmen, Frau Doktor? ” 

“Gladly, Moritz. Auf Wiedersehen! ” 

The life in the streets diverted Otten’s thoughts. 
“ A great old town, after all, this old Cologne of ours. 
I love it, when the contrasts meet. That keeps the 
blood in circulation. This glorious joy of life, and yet 
this everlasting preparation for heaven. There, again, 
a bunch of people are going to church. They could not 
do without that.” 

‘But there is no Mass now,” Moritz Lachner said, 
looking at his watch. 

* No Mass? Oh, yes. By the way—since when are 
you interested in Catholicism? ” 

“IT am interested in every religious belief. For I 
must live with all sorts.” 

** Listen, Moritz, that was sensibly said. Whoever 
wishes to live beside his neighbor as his brother, should 
learn to know the God of his neighbor. When he has 
learnt that, he has found the thread leading to the 
other’s soul. But in this respect, our modern, much 
praised times are still in the darkness of the Mid- 
dle Ages, and the schools are shrouding these ques- 
tions in the densest of silence. Is that not a sad, re- 
grettable fact? The pupils of our higher schools 
learn of the cults of Isis and Osiris, and they memorize 
the descriptions of the usages of Moloch until they 
can recite them like the Lord’s prayer while they are 
asleep. But at the same time the Catholic knows of 
the Protestant only that the Protestant is an unbeliever, 
and for the young Protestant the customs and the 
teachings of the Catholic Church remain unhallowed 


THE ADVENTURER 137 


mysteries. And in the course of years this narrow- 
mindedness increases. I'll not speak of the Jewish re- 
ligion at all. If one-tenth of the things that are told 
about your poor Talmud were true, you would be 
thrown into the Rhine like superfluous kittens. Holy 
mysticism! People are kept a-shivering from fear and 
awe, so that they will remain docile, and stick to their 
creed. And yet our Greek heaven is full of gods!” 

Moritz Lachner walked with shining eyes beside the 
idol of his childhood. That it would remain the idol 
of his more advanced youth he felt at this hour. To 
be so free, and yet in freedom so warm of heart! How 
he admired and loved this man! 

“What are you dreaming about, Moritz? Your 
thoughts probably are floating about Bonn? ” 

Hastily the young man warded off the insinuation: 
“T was but thinking if that which you had just dis- 
closed to me could not be made the foundation of a 
retrospective history of cults and development.” 

“Tt really seems to me,”’ Otten replied, “ that a Jew 
would be the most fit to write a European history of 
culture objectively and fairly. He has taken the least 
part in the struggles of the ruling parties; to him, it 
would be immaterial if the teachings of Martin Luther, 
or those of Dr. Eck, be accepted and become prevalent. 
To him—of course, taking his own nobility of mind 
and thought for granted—it would only remain to find 
which problems have been solved and which solutions 
had failed, and the result would show the way.” 

“Then spiritual persecution would have to be elim- 
inated, as being detrimental to evolution.” 

*“ Persecution in matters of religion always engenders 
lack of freedom, low instincts. A belief which fanat- 


138 THE ADVENTURER 


ically excludes all others must fall into errors itself, 
exactly as intermarriage causes degeneracy.” 

*T will not forget that at my work, Herr Doktor.” 

* Look at Cologne as it was a hundred years ago, 
towards the close of the eighteenth century. That is 
an example. Through the narrowness of its spiritual 
authorities, it had degenerated into an unclean, gloomy 
town, inhabited by scarcely forty thousand people. 
And what sort of people! That is the important point. 
One-half, almost twenty thousand, a mob, the militia of 
the Orders. And as the guards among these, five thou- 
sand beggars, five thousand idlers, a menace to every 
spark of intelligence, recognized as a guild, only bound 
to be idle, to prey upon the decent citizens, whose houses 
they entered for their noonday meal, ‘ For the sake of 
God!’ And this brutish gang was even permitted to 
occupy permanent places at the church doors, and to 
leave these as their property to their offspring, or to 
give them as a dowry to their marrying daughters! 
Not until the French Revolution swept the dull super- 
stitions out of the streets and alleys; not until intel- 
ligence and common sense were recognized as gifts of 
God again, and were accorded their due respect, did the 
sun shine upon Cologne again; and then there came an 
awakening, a wondrous spring-like sprouting and grow- 
ing all over the city, so that, within a short time, it 
reached a size, a beauty, and an importance the like of 
which it had not even known in the days of its historical 
glory. Citizen shook the hand of citizen, animated by 
the same spirit for the good of the commonwealth, by 
a common interest in culture. And this sort of re- 
ligion is always the one that pleases God the most. 
We can see that by His blessings.” 


THE ADVENTURER 139 


“J thank you, Herr Doktor.” 

“No cause for it. But we will talk of something 
else.” 

“I could go on listening for a long while.” 

“My dear Moritz, I will not deprive your professor 
of his privilege. He is being paid for his work.” 

* Then I will enter you as my creditor, Herr Doktor.” 

They had left the city behind them, and were walk- 
ing through the Bayernthal along the Rhine. The 
greenish-gray waters flowed past them almost without 
a sound. 

“Do you know why they are so silent, Moritz? Be- 
cause they are coming from Bonn.” 

* Oh, no, Herr Doktor!” 

“You may depend upon it. Bonn is the last stage of 
their unadulterated youthful liveliness. From there, 
downstream, they only serve the purposes of every-day 
life, and in Holland they are lost amidst the sand.” 

* But the lower Rhine, too, Herr Doktor, has spring- 
time every year. And one feels spring here more in- 
tensely than in more blessed climes.” 

“Tam here to await it. If only it will not turn out 
to be an Indian summer! ” 

* Look up that way,” said Moritz Lachner. “ That 
is the way to Bonn!” 

Otten patted his young companion’s back. “ You - 
are right. There is Bonn for you. But the waters 
that have once begun flowing do not run back and up- 
hill. And it is a damned nasty feeling, to think that 
they are running to the Netherlands, and will be lost 
amid the sands.” 

“ But the channel remains through which they have 
flowed, and all the way-stations.” 


140 THE ADVENTURER 


Joseph Otten stood still. ‘“ A kind spirit has made 
you say that. In this gray home-country of mine, 
where the dense fogs of Holland begin to be noticed, I 
always grow strangely melancholy. But it is nothing 
save the longing for color. And yet I only need to 
turn about, to see the track of my days on earth in 
rainbow hues. That is very instructive. For there 
must be days of rain, too, to make the rainbow visible, 
and to show how much sun there is behind its glorious 
color-play. It may seem ungrateful on my part, but I 
should be glad to miss all this retrospective splendor, 
all this recognition and understanding, if I could again 
stand up there where the sun shines straight down, even 
taking the chance of remaining unknowing forever. 
Well, let’s be sensible! ” 

“There comes a rowboat.” 

* And there are young people in it. To be young 
means to play ball with the world. Come, Moritz. 
After this philosophical afternoon, it is high time that 
we play the game again. At any rate, you are entirely 
too old for your years, and I feel, to my horror, that 
it is contagious. Come, let us drink in honor of 
Bonn!” 

He linked his arm with that of his young friend: 
“'To the nearest inn!” 

* Herr Doktor, I believe——” 

* Now leave me in peace with your confessions of 
faith. When I am going to wine and dine, my earthly, 
part demands its rights. Play ball, Moritz!” 

“Surely it is Carmen, Herr Doktor! ” 

ce Who——? 3” 

“Carmen and Laurenz Terbroich. There, they are 
landing.” 


THE ADVENTURER 141 


“ Really.—Wish to take a walk here in the wilder- 
ness. The young lady with her schoolbooks, and 
young master apprentice with his sleeve-protectors still 
on. Far away from the envious world. That is 
touching.” 

The two arrivals had now fastened their boat, and 
turned toward the road. 

“ Hello, Carmen! Just a word!” 

The girl started. But in a moment she shrugged 
her shoulders and motioned to her father: 

** Ah, there you are, father!” 

“Please come up. Herr Terbroich may join us. 
So, so, . . . good-day. As I gather from your call, 
you surely must have been looking for me.” 

“ Laurenz met me as I was coming from school. He 
had just been to the post-office. And at the har- 
bor fi 

“Ts that near the way home? ” 

“No, but near the harbor we met old Klaus, and 
he said that you had gone for a walk with Moritz.” 

“Tron logic. All right, let it be. And then your 
child-like anxiety urged you to beg old Klaus to lend 
you his boat, and then to row to this lonely spot be- 
cause you surely expected to find me here.” 

*“ Yes, Herr Doktor.” 

* Herr Terbroich, in your place I would have awaited 
a better time for my answer. To lie well is an art. I 
admit that. But to lie clumsily is an insult.” 

** Laurenz never lies, father.” 

** So much the worse, if he leaves it to you. Silence! 
Bravery is praiseworthy. But foolhardiness is for 
dunces. And only yesterday I thought you were rather 
a bright girl.” 





142 THE ADVENTURER 


“Oh, father,” she coaxed, “ wasn’t that nice last 
night? ” 

“Well, if that doesn’t take the cake! You would 
probably be in favor of a repetition here.” 

“Oh, father, don’t be angry. For such a little thing 
you surely don’t need to play the part of the old king 
who puts his hand on a person’s heart! Surely there 
are much more serious things.” 

“ This is getting better and better! May I ask most 
humbly what sort of things they are? ” 

“Yes,” said the girl, throwing her head back and 
winking at her father. “ But how am I to know? 
Monks and little girls should not be inquisitive.” 

Joseph Otten passed his hand over his face to keep 
up his dignity. “It seems to me that a halibut with 
ears and snout is being served here.” 

“Only a ’but, only a but,” Carmen called out laugh- 
ingly and linked her arm with her father’s. With dif- 
ficulty he prevented her from hugging and kissing him. 
But the seriousness of his face was hopelessly lost. “I 
did not show much talent as an educator of children in 
this affair,” Otten thought, and sighed. 

“Will you take me along, father? Where are you 
going? ” 

“ Herr Doktor,” Moritz Lachner begged. 

* Have you a suggestion to make? [I am all ears.” 

“My father would be very glad if you—on account 
of my graduation ” He stopped. 

“A glass of wine at your house? That is a go. 
You have earned it.” 

* And Laurenz? ” the girl asked quickly. 

* TI will forego the hospitality of Simon Lachner,” 
the young patrician said loftily. 





THE ADVENTURER 143 


Joseph Otten frowned. But he passed by the nasty 
insult to Lachner. ‘“ Young Herr Terbroich,” he said 
coolly, “ unfortunately cannot take part in our celebra- 
tion, as he must fulfill his very honorable obligation of 
rowing back with the boat. Inasmuch as he obeyed 
only a beautiful impulse when he started out with the 
daughter to aid her in finding her father, we must 
allow his unselfishness to have its full triumph. Good- 
day, Herr Terbroich.” 

* Run,” Carmen called out, and merrily slapped him 
on the shoulder. ‘ You have succeeded in making a 
fool of yourself.” Again turning to her father, she 
took his arm. “ Do we take a carriage at the Severins 
Gate?” 

“JT will arrange an entry with a brass band for 
you. Don’t you also desire public recognition and 
acclaim? ” 

She grasped his arm more tightly, kept step with 
him, and hummed to herself. Otten watched her fur- 
tively. And at the Severins Gate he hailed an open 
carriage. ‘“ Obenmarspforte; Lachner.” 

“To Simon the Jew. I understand, Herr!” 

Carmen warbled softly, and Moritz climbed into the 
carriage. In many streets Doktor Otten met recogni- 
tion and greetings. Often carriages crossed their path. 
Then Carmen would look at her father,—at her hand- 
some, proud father, who replied to every greeting with 
the same chivalrous politeness, and she leaned back 
even more gracefully in her corner, with heated cheeks 
and shining eyes. And again Otten secretly watched 
his child. In spite of all, she pleased him. 

Moritz Lachner sat opposite them on the little seat. 
He felt as if he had sneaked in to share another’s honors, 


144 THE ADVENTURER 


and as he did not wish to make that impression at all, 
he looked intently at his knees. 

“ Well, Moritz? Young son of the Muses! Up 
with your head! The world is yours!” 

Then he looked up with big thankful eyes, and 
thenceforward he let his glance wander about, an- 
swered the greetings meant for Otten by quietly doffing 
his hat, feeling as if he belonged to the family. Thus 
they reached Obenmarspforte. 

Little gray-bearded Simon Lachner wiped his hand 
again and again on his greasy coat, before he ex- 
tended it to greet his guests. “ A great honor, Herr 
Doktor! A great honor! I know it is meant for my 
son. But pardon a father’s pleasure.” 

‘My dear Herr Lachner, your son is a splendid 
fellow. I felt that I must tell you that. Hence I 
came.” 

** Even if the Herr Doktor had not taken the trouble 
to come here, Moritz would still be a splendid son to me. 
But that the Herr Doktor says it with such emphasis, 
does me so much good. And now the Fraulein has 
grown to be a real lady, and she is still the friend of 
my Moritz. Please come up these stairs. They are 
narrow, but happiness does not depend upon the width 
of a staircase. To-day it enters my house. The door 
to the right, please. There we are. You are welcome 
in my house.” 

They sat opposite each other at the table. The old 
man had removed his silk skull-cap, and was turning 
it in his hands as he looked radiantly from one to the 
other. 

“Herr Lachner, I’d like to make you a proposi- 
tion.” 


THE ADVENTURER 145 


“The suggestions of the Herr Doktor are always 
good.” 

** How would it be, if, in honor of the glorious gradu- 
ate, we would sacrifice——” 

* Are you serious? You would share a glass of our 
unpretentious wine with us? ” 

“Let us say a bottle. And I’m not so particular 
about the unpretentiousness.” 

“JT have an Italian wine—a festival wine, Herr 
Doktor. Got it through a business friend at Toscana. 
Especially intended for this day, when Moritz was to 
make me so happy by graduating with such honors. 
And the Herr Doktor is a connoisseur, too! No, I'll 
get it, Moritz. You are the celebrity to-day, with 
your kind permission, Herr Doktor, and with the per- 
mission of Fraulein Carmen.” 

And hurriedly he went to the cellar, returning with 
a large bottle cased in straw. Out of an antique cup- 
board he produced glasses. “They are rare crystal. 
Venetian work. But the day, too, is rare, that brings 
such guests, and rare——” He poured out the wine, 
and the rest of his words were lost in his beard. 

* You can say it aloud, Herr Lachner! And rare is 
so fine a son. But the fathers set the example. And, 
therefore, we will drink the first glass to the health 
of the father of our friend Moritz. Herr Simon Lach- 
ner shall live—Hoch! Hoch! Hoch!” 

“ O God, Herr Doktor. God, Herr Doktor 

* And now I will pour the wine. Hand me the crys- 
tal from Venice. In the clear crystal goblets flows the 
noble blood of the grape. Let that be the symbol of 
truth to him who goes out into the world to be a man. 
The brightness of soiled goblets can be restored, but 





146 THE ADVENTURER 


the divine fire of a wine that has once become cloudy 
—never. And when hailstones are falling all about 
you, never let them dilute the wine of your enthusiasm, 
my boy. Enthusiasm is half of life, and the other half 
is the strength that keeps it up. I wish you both. 
Keep them as your inalienable property and youth will 
never end for you. Prost, Student!” 

Moritz Lachner stood breathing heavily. He emp- 
tied his glass to the very last drop. 

The old man sipped his wine. He seemed to have 
difficulty in swallowing. 

Carmen stood close to her father. ‘“ You dear!” 
she said, and squeezed his arm. 

“Wild one!” and he laughed with a father’s pride 
into the eyes of the impulsive girl. “ Look for a dif- 
ferent pattern and example!” 

** Never! ” 

“ There is Italian blood in the Cologners, young his- 
torian,” Otten said. ‘ We must make the best of it.” 

Outside, the shadows of evening were falling. Moist 
fogbanks coming from the Netherlands rolled over the 
city. The fathers and their children did not notice it. 
To the four merry beings who clinked glasses, it seemed 
as if it were the approach of one of those mild, starlit, 
Hesperian nights which make one so young because their 
stars are so joy-inspiring. 


CHAPTER IX 


Tue joy of the approaching carnival reigned su- 
preme in the streets of old Cologne. It emanated from 
houses where women and girls were fashioning in secret 
their masquerade costumes, which were to transform 
them into gypsies and harem-beauties. Householders 
were intently bent over their working-tables, evolving, 
behind carefully locked doors, those jests and jokes at 
the expense of city government, of good friends, and 
of the world at large, that they were to spring when 
they entered the Butt or chancel at the next fool’s ses- 
sion of their society. Bedecked with paper foolscaps, 
the children played upon stairways and pavements, 
often wandering through the streets in long rows with 
arms linked. 

The entire city rang with the sound of carnival 
song. The children sang aloud, and their elders 
hummed the airs, to get into practice for the weeks of 
fast and furious fun that were ahead. But they did 
not sing aloud as yet, for they knew that their voices 
would be required to work overtime later on. The ad- 
vertisement columns of the newspapers contained many 
tender proposals, to be understood only by the one for 
whose eyes they were meant. The mail clerk at the 
General Delivery window worked twice as hard as usual. 
Good humor, wit, and satire were cropping up every- 
where ; jests and jibes flew to and fro, and were parried 
with alacrity, And in the evening, when the shutters 

147 


148 THE ADVENTURER 


were put up, the girls would stand longer at the cor- 
ners than usual, exchanging confidences in a whisper. 
“What are you going to be? ” 

“T’ll be a Donna Elvira.” 

* And I'll go as a sailor.” 

* Pooh, why, you'll have to wear pants! ” 

“Don’t you wear any?” 

“ Will you be still, you naughty thing! ” 

“What of it? Afterwards you will get the same sort 
of ashen cross on your forehead as I will.” 

In the rear rooms of the inns men sat close together, 
summoned by the Little Council of Eleven to arrange 
stag-sessions and gala evenings to which the ladies 
would be invited. In the preliminary meetings, the 
newest carnival songs were tried and discarded or ap- 
proved, according to their effect on the gathering, and 
a joke would find acceptance no matter if it were full 
of spice and fire. The houses of the wealthy showed 
electric window-illumination. The private masquerade 
balls were in full fling, and ladies and gentlemen in 
strange and gorgeous costumes would hurry from their 
carriages to the protecting portals, to escape the ad- 
miring remarks and droll courtesies of the street 
gamins. Waltz music sounded from the festive houses. 
Passers-by would stop and look at the windows, behind 
the curtains of which shadows of dancers were flitting 
past in rhythmic motion. Jolly fellows would attempt 
grotesque imitations of the ghostlike shadow-dancers, 
and mothers joined the fracas by letting babes-in-arms 
hop up and down. 

Cologne was getting ready to be foolish. 

Joseph Otten was out a great deal during these days. 
He walked leisurely through the streets, mingled with 


THE ADVENTURER 149 


the people, and allowed the spirit of the time to in- 
fluence him. He loved the Fasching, and he claimed 
he loved it as a humanitarian. “It is the only time 
in the year,” he laughingly said to Maria, “in which 
the people are acting sanely, that is, according to their 
innermost inclination. If they shout, they don’t do it 
because they are allowed to in these days, but because 
they are not allowed to at other times. And if their 
morality begins to get shaky, it only shows upon 
what weak legs it has stood the rest of the year. Aside 
from that, the whole thing is a sort of personal con- 
solation to me.” 

* Joseph!” Frau Maria answered. 

He folded her in his arms. “ And it should be a con- 
solation to you also. If I take part to a greater or 
less extent all the year around in the merry masquerade 
of life, then my lady here ought to say, if she is wise: 
The difference between the rest of the people and Joseph 
lies simply in the fact that Joseph is not a hypo- 
crite.” 

“IT am a wise woman.” 

“I know it,” said he, stroking her hair and kissing 
her eyes. 

The letter-carrier brought mail. Frau Maria with- 
drew. The concert-agent wrote concerning a tour 
through Great Britain. “ T’ll think that over.” Then 
he took the second letter. The cancellation of the 
stamp showed it came from the city. “ Well, what’s 
this? An unknown hand.” He turned the small billet 
several times in his hand. Then he drew from the 
envelope a lithographed card. 

“ Herr and Frau Liittgen request the pleasure of 
Herr Doktor Otten’s presence at a small private dance 


150 THE ADVENTURER 


to be given Wednesday evening next. Costume, please.” 

He looked over the card into the distance. There 
was a quiver about the corners of his mouth for-a sec- 
ond. ‘“ Well, well—the gracious Frau Liittgen. ... 
Trying to domineer so soon. .. . Sorry.” 

He took a visiting-card and filled it out with a line: 
* Dr. Joseph Otten regrets not to be able to accept the 
kind invitation for Wednesday evening.” 

He put it into an envelope and addressed it. As he 
dropped the missive into the mailbox, he mused: “ In the 
first place, my invitation was written on a left-over 
printed card, as if I were to jump at it. Secondly: A 
beautiful woman who has nothing to give but malice—— 
That is a method of dry distillation. Simply rot- 
ten x 

In the evening a Dienstmann brought a note. “I 
am to await an answer, Herr Doktor.” Otten looked 
at the signature: “ Karl Liittgen.” He drew up his 
shoulders. ‘Such persistence!” Then he read: 





“Dear Joseph! You would give me a great pleasure, 
if you would permit me to spend the evening in your 
company. Will we meet in the ‘ Ewige Lampe’ in the 
Komidienstrasse? I suggest this, because the place is 
handy for you. From there we can go elsewhere. 
Don’t fear an attempt at assassination on account of 
your refusal to come Wednesday. To the contrary! 
Your Kar! Liittgen.” 


Otten shook his head. “ This ‘ to the contrary’ is so 
funny, that it deserves a reward.” And he sat down 
and wrote: “ Will be there in an hour. With great 
pleasure. Your Otten.” 


THE ADVENTURER 151 


He handed the note to the messenger, who hid it 
within his cap. 

“TI smell something burning, Herr Doktor.” 

Otten took out his cigar-case. “Try one!” 

The Dienstmann grinned and bowed awkwardly. 
* Thanks, Herr Doktor.” 

An hour later Otten entered the inn of the 
“ Perpetual Light.” The rotund figure of his former 
schoolmate arose, and the latter greeted him mer- 
rily. 

“Tt was nice of you, Joseph, not to refuse my re- 
quest. Take a seat. Will you have a glass of this 
brand? ” 

* Do you thank me for declining your joint invita- 
tion? ” Otten handed his hat and cloak to the waiter, 
and took a chair beside Liittgen. 

* Really, Joseph, I do.” 

* Strange host.” 

“T’ll tell you, Joseph. This noon when your letter 
came we were just at dinner. I read it and gave the 
card to my wife. “ Aha,” she said, “the great 
artist ” “Declines,” said I. She grew pale from 
anger. “ This great gentleman has high notions. Re- 
grets not to be able to accept. That’s all. Just as if 
he were invited to dinner at the governor’s, or at the 
Archbishop’s that night.”—“ He probably is.”— 
** Nonsense.”—“ You see, Amely, that man does not 
need to wait for us.”—‘“ You even seem to enjoy it! 
You Rhinelanders have manners!” 

The manufacturer took a drink. “ Really, Joseph, 
in that she was right. I not only seemed to enjoy it. 
I did enjoy it immensely. I felt a regular diabolical 

joy at her discomfiture.” 





. 


152 THE ADVENTURER 


“Then I don’t appear to be a very popular guest at 
your house.” 

“More than that. Much more... only—you 
know I have always had a strong liking for you, but you 
were intellectually beyond my level. And I lacked the 
courage to push my friendship for you. And when, a 
few days ago, you suddenly appeared in our house, 
and were such a splendid, fine fellow, I said to myself: 
That friend I will keep. Him I will not give up to the 
‘society’ crowd. A fellow must have at least one 
friend. Prost, Joseph!” 

“You began your sentence a while ago with 
* Only > Well? ” 

“TI meant, I don’t want her to have your friendship. 
Not in her sense of the word. For her to order about 
and for you to obey. Or to condescend, that the 
others are not to be considered! And now it hap- 
pened for the first time that she was not considered. 
She takes that devilish personal. And that was what 
tickled me.” 

Joseph Otten silently emptied his glass. The waiter 
brought another bottle. 

* Yours does not seem to be an ideal union, Liittgen.” 

“Oh, yes! A regular pattern—outwardly. That 
seems to be the very latest thing nowadays. And my 
wife is a modern woman. You may depend upon that.” 

“Look here, Liittgen. Are you not confessing 
rather too much to me? ” 

The manufacturer slowly turned his red, fleshy face 
toward the speaker. ‘“ No, Joseph.” 

“That is categorical. But is there none among your 
old friends who stands close to you? ” 

* They have all gone over into the camp of my wife.” 





THE ADVENTURER 153 


‘“‘ Man, then why in the world don’t you follow suit? ” 

Liittgen’s brows drew together. For a while he 
played with his glass. 

“Do you think that I have not tried? Or why did 
I marry her three years ago, after my first happy and 
congenial union? The answer? Because I was in love. 
Because I still felt young enough to offer something to 
the heart. Because I was so vain, that I wanted some- 
thing different from the others, and did not need to take 
wealth into consideration. For she had not a penny— 
but that is beside the question.” 

* And your attempts to bring about an understand- 
ing were not successful? ” 

“* My dear Joseph,” Liittgen said, “ you express your- 
self very considerately. Bring about an understand- 
ing? That meant, to submit. You may rest assured 
that I have tried. Daily and hourly. For I really 
loved this woman. And, to be truthful, her changing 
moods were to me, who knew practically nothing about 
complicated women’s natures, an added charm. One 
moment a vain, overbearing woman, glorying to torture 
me to the quick with clever deviltries, she would be in 
the very next hour a helpless girl, glad to let me carry 
her through our rooms in my arms. This constant 
changeability kept me a-going. I forgot to have 
thoughts of my own. And that was the secret of it. 
This woman needed for every phase a good, docile Saint 
Bernard. And she trained me.” 

“Even a Saint Bernard may play the part of a 
hero, my friend.” 

“Only a trained one. And when he is ordered to.” 

** In matrimony one party must be the ruler.” 

“Granted. You see, ] am not narrow. But I soon 


154 THE ADVENTURER 


questioned myself: Where is the union in this case? 
There was absolutely nothing in common. Not even a 
thought. I had to work in the daytime in my factory. 
The business of the last few years has required a real 
man. Damn it, I kept on and pushed ahead. And 
when I came home in the evenings, I’d look for a pleas- 
ant chat as a needed recreation. And then my intellect 
would be weighed and found wanting. I know I am 
not a shining light in literature. But there are other 
matters for conversation. I know, I am not a 
‘causeur.’ But is it necessary to constantly give forth 
pearls? I should think that a few kind, sweet words 
are not worthless, either. Joseph, until then I had 
been a proud man, and—when in my factory—not with- 
out cause. This pride was necessary in my work, just 
as necessary as pleasure and recreation after hours. 
You know the English saying, ‘ All work and no play 
makes Jack a dull boy.’ But I was taught differently 
now. My pride was a manufacturer’s uppishness, the 
merriment a thick application of grease-paint to cover 
up the mental deficiency. I learned that I lacked not 
only the easy grace of proper expression, but also 
depth of thought; I learned that I—my knowledge of 
my steelworks was not worth consideration—that I was 
a mental plebeian. And my friends, swearing by the 
beautiful eyes of my better half, learned it, too— 
learned to believe it * 

Otten looked at the table. Now he raised his head. 
“* She is very beautiful, your wife——_ A peculiar style 
of beauty. And intellectual—quite spirited. And she 
knows all that.” 

“ Of my mentality I have already spoken. And my 
personality ? I know, I am a fat, full-blooded 








THE ADVENTURER 155 


fellow. But she saw that before we were married. 
Now I was inelegant, lacked manners. Every pet habit 
of mine was passed in critical review and ridiculed, un- 
til I felt positively miserable. Other ambitions could 
not be awakened. I was declared too stubborn for that, 
too. Friends surrounded my wife, insisting that her 
whims were heavenly, so as not to appear dunces them- 
selves. I became the porter. A nice job that. 
But I am sick of it. Thank God that you have 
come.” 

“I have listened to you in silence,” Otten said after 
a pause, “and I can well conceive, that even the 
strongest and most conservative may be grasped by a 
mood in which he discloses things which one usually 
keeps secret. At present you and your wife are war- 
ring. You are angry, and you see things blacker than 
they are. You exaggerate quite naturally. And, per- 
haps, in a very short while you will wish unspoken what 
you have said to-day. That is a subtle, uncomfortable 
feeling, but that will be all, for I will have forgotten it 
all. At the bottom of your heart you are proud of 
your wife, and you love her beyond measure.” 

The manufacturer pushed the glass aside, and laid 
his hand upon the hand of his friend. 

“TI consider it as a matter of course that what is 
spoken here remains between us two. It is the first 
time that I have laid aside entirely the mask of the 
light-hearted husband and master of the house. And I 
will resume it when we leave this place. But I want one 
person for myself. A human being to whom I can go 
and anchor once in a while, so that I will not grow 
ridiculous to myself. And now look at me coolly. I 
am in absolutely normal condition mentally. And now 


156 THE ADVENTURER 


I will tell you my relation to my wife in three words, 
that need no elaboration: I—hate—her.” 

“ Liittgen! ” exclaimed Otten, shocked by this cold- 
blooded speech. 

“T hate her. That is the remnant to which my self- 
respect clings.” 

A minute passed. The silence became oppressive. 

“We have grown damned serious, Liittgen,” Otten 
finally said. 

“Perdon me. That was not my intention at all. 
And I hope that now things will grow more pleasant in 
my house. I count on you.” 

* You surely don’t think that I would become a vis- 
itor in your house? Only a while ago you were glad I 
had declined.” 

“I was, and I am, my dear Joseph. It will teach her 
that people must come to you. She is not used to 
that. And when you come at another time, and then 
again and again, we two will walk through the salon 
arm in arm, and her vanity will grow less.” 

** My dear Liittgen, that is no part for me. I must 
pay my respects to the lady of the house which I enter.” 

“You may. You may even pay her court. You 
may even become her friend, for she has qualities which 
would make that possible. I am not blind. Only, she 
must know that, in the first place, you are my friend.” 

** And from that you hope so much? ” 

** Not for the time being, but for my old age.” 

Otten almost gasped and thought: “ And a person 
can grow to be so resigned that he only hopes for rest 
in the years to come!” 

“ What do you say? ” Liittgen asked, pulling out his 
watch. “ Let’s go over to the Domhotel. We need a 


THE ADVENTURER 157 


change of surroundings, if we are to get into a different 
mood. The air here is now pregnant with mournful 
music. Away with it!” 

“ Yes, let’s go.” 

When they were walking in the street, Otten with 
springy stride, the manufacturer heavily and clumsily, 
Liittgen pushed his arm through that of his friend. 
* Alongside of you, I recognize myself to be an old 
man. Yes—days that are gone, not to return.” 

“Don’t drink such heavy brands,” Otten replied. 
“ They make one sentimental.” 

The next day was a Sunday. Otten had come to 
breakfast with a dull headache, and soon after had gone 
for a long walk to freshen up. ‘Thoughts were whirl- 
ing in his brain. He wished to adjust them. 

The morning advanced. Carmen had gone to eleven 
o’clock Mass in the Cathedral, and Frau Maria sat 
idling in her easy-chair. It was her hour of repose. 
She loved the bright Sunday mornings, that seem 
brighter than the mornings of other days. She gath- 
ered quite a fund of brightness from them for the week- 
days to come. 

Downstairs the bell tinkled. Old Klaus, who had also 
been taking his siesta, opened the front door. Light 
steps came up the stairs, and now the bell in the upper 
hall rang. Frau Maria arose to see. 

* Herr Doktor at home? ” 

“My husband has gone out. I am Frau Otten. 
Won’t you step in? ” 

* Thank you.” 

When she had entered, Frau Maria pointed to a 
chair. “ Do you wish to leave a message for my hus- 
band, madam? ” 


158 THE ADVENTURER 


“Tam Frau Liittgen. You probably know the name 
as that of a friend of your husband’s.” 

“T heard it yesterday. The gentlemen had an ap- 
pointment.” 

“ That’s right. I, too, heard of you but yesterday. 
Else, I surely would not have made the mistake of not 
inviting you, too, to our little féte.” 

**T did not even know that my husband had aincepien 
an invitation. But I go out so little, that it really 
requires no excuse on your part.” 

* Accepted the invitation? No, you err. He has 
declined it rather curtly. And hence you see me here 
in person. I had planned such a pretty surprise. I 
intended to appear with Herr Doktor Otten as a wan- 
dering singer, he as harper, and I as Mignon. It isa 
small costume affair, and now your angry husband 
spoils my nice scheme.” 

“No,” said Frau Maria, “ how should my husband 
be angry with you. He returned scarcely a week ago 
from a tour of several years, and probably feels a little 
tired still.” 

“Of tiredness I noticed nothing the first evening. 
You speak as the anxious ‘ Hausfrau.’ ” 

** Has he been at your house already? ” Frau Maria 
asked pleasantly. 

** On the evening of his arrival. And he said nothing 
about it? That is a man for you.” 

“JT am not inquisitive,’ Frau Maria said smil- 
ingly. 

Frau Amely Liittgen started. Her clever gray eyes 
fastened upon the quict features of the woman who 
could appear so calm. 

*T cannot understand that,” she said. “ Or else— 


THE ADVENTURER 159 


we should be allowed to demand the same virtue of the 
man.” 

“ Not to be inquisitive? We should not gain any- 
thing by that.” 

* Nothing ** 

“At most, one might arouse the husband’s jealousy 
for nothing. Is that what you mean?” Frau Maria 
laughed. 

“ Tt would not always be ‘ for nothing. 

“You jest, madam.” 

“Listen. This theme is very interesting to me. 
But you are much more so.” 

“In order that you may not be disappointed, I 
suggest that we stick to the theme.” 

“ Seriously, Frau Otten, you surely do not demand 
that we women shall be human beings of second class? ” 

“On the contrary. Human beings of the first class. 
So that the husband always retains a standard.” 

“The husband! Always the husband! Is his per- 
son really so valuable that it must be treated with such 
tender consideration? ” 

“ As the father of our child. I should think so.” 

* Of the child! ” 

* You see, our ambition stops at the mere word. At 
the bottom it is a very simple problem, if we only have 
the will to solve it.” 

The equanimity of the woman tempted the visitor 
not to drop the subject yet. “ You say the child. In 
that, I agree with you. That is sacred. But for that 
very reason we ought to be accorded freedom in the 
selection of its father.” 

“T don’t believe,” Frau Maria answered, “ that the 
child is sacred by reason of its birth. But I do believe 





999 


160 THE ADVENTURER 


that the mother can sanctify it through her example. 
So far as that suffices. The rearing develops the 
being.” 

“Then it must appear to you incomprehensible that 
a woman unites with a man—how shall I say—without 
formality? ” 

A fine blush came over Frau Maria’s forehead, grow- 
ing deeper and deeper. 

“Why should that seem incomprehensible to me? 
But one would have to love that man sufficiently to—to 
marry him, too, at any moment.” 

“Would that suffice?” Frau Amely asked sar- 
castically. 

“TI said ‘too. That means, one must know that 
there is a union—one way or the other. One must feel 
that one has been driven to one’s act by the force of a 
strong wonderful longing, and not by lack of resistance 
against one’s self or the other, nor by cool calculation 
and reasoning. Our children need blood. And blood 
comes from the heart.” 

** Even a heart like that may bleed to death.” 

“Bleed to death, yes. But such blood will never 
weaken and turn to water, by being diverted into many 
channels. The other way, ours would become a mis- 
erable race eventually.” 

* And of yourself, of your own rights you don’t think 
at all?” : 

“Pardon me,” Frau Maria said, rising. The door- 
bell had sounded below. Carmen returned merrily from 
Mass. 

“My daughter Carmen,” Frau Maria presented 
her. And Carmen courtesied and gave the lady her 
hand. 


THE ADVENTURER 161 


“ What an intelligent little head,” the visitor said 
admiringly. ‘“ 1’ll have to come with my carriage and 
take you for a drive some time.” 

“ Yes?—Please.” 

“‘ Child, watch for father. He’ll probably return by 
the street along the Rhine.” 

Carmen stormed away. 

** And such a sparkling being is to be suppressed and 
conventionalized, only because that is the accepted 
way?” 

“You think me farther behind than I really am, 
madam. I am an absolute believer in the new era that 
demands of us women a renewal and further educational 
development in all the sciences, of course, according to 
one’s talents. When Carmen has finished her present 
school studies, and if her gifts warrant, she will take the 
recently arranged preparatory course. We are not 
standing still, madam.” 

* And study the new ethics? ” 

Frau Maria smiled. ‘ How persistently you stick to 
that !—To the word ‘new.’ In spite of all, it remains 
the same old question of what we consider good and 
beautiful, and of what others deem so. That will never 
be changed. Only, heretofore, people did not make 
much fuss about it, when one considered one’s own views 
especially beautiful. That may be poetry. But when 
you carry poetry to the market-place, it naturally be- 
comes loud and vulgar noise. Therefore one should 
not announce the new ethics so noisily.” 

Frau Amely drew up her brows. “ Let that be as it 
may. Success will decide the question. But, at any 
rate,” and she rose quickly, “we have at least not 
talked about the servant problem, and bargain-sales. 


162 THE ADVENTURER 


At a first call! So we are really more fit for evolution 
than the men, who have not yet gotten beyond the dis- 
cussion of the wine prices.” 

“The poor men,” Frau Maria laughed amusedly. 

* Really, they are poor devils. And they ought to 
know it.” 

** Except my husband.” 

* You really make me anxious to know him bet- 
ter. He must carry virtues like medals upon his 
chest.” 

** Don’t you know the vigorous maxim of the English, 
madam? Right or wrong, my country! That is the 
way I think of my husband!” 

“T had almost forgotten the purpose of my call. 
Will you help me to make him change his mind? And 
will you, also, accord me the pleasure? ” 

** It is very kind of you to think of me. But, really, 
I cannot well leave my child in the evening. We live 
in such a retired fashion that Carmen depends entirely 
upon me during the evening.” 

“Then send your husband alone. Tell him that I 
count upon him not to spoil my idea of the Harper 
and Mignon. As Mignon, I would make myself as 
charming as possible. Only for his sake. Perhaps 
that might help.” 

“Tt would at least be the strongest inducement.” 

* Adieu, madam. I have had a delightful hour with 
you.” 

*“ Adieu, madam.” 

** You will hear from me frequently hereafter. That 
is what you get for it.” 

* T shall gladly become accustomed to it.” 

Frau Amely walked down the street, and at the shore 


THE ADVENTURER 163 


of the Rhine she turned, to walk along the river. Frau 
Maria looked after her from the window. 

“That is not mere elegance of dress,” she said. 
“‘ That is inherited culture.” And she admired the fine 
lines of the figure and the manner of walking. “ Phys- 
ical culture. And her mind is dependent on that. 
There is the secret.” 

She slowly turned about to go to the kitchen. It was 
time to look after the serving of the noonday meal. 
She glanced at the mirror. 

“You belong to Joseph Otten, and to no one else,” 
and she nodded at the tall, stately figure the mirror re- 
flected. ‘That is better than freedom. To no one 
else——”” 

Half an hour later Otten returned. Carmen hung 
on his arm. The walk had refreshed him. He was 
bright and ready of speech. 

“You have had a visitor, Maria? Carmen told me 
of a lady from whose shoulders ever so many furry 
tails were dangling. The girlie wants a fur like that 
at any cost.” 

‘Did you not meet her? ” 

“* What, did she come looking for me? ” 

** She walked from here, along the shore of the Rhine. 
If that was meant for the Rhine? ” 

** Clever one, are you trying to make me vain? Who 
was it, anyway? ” 

** Do you know a certain Mignon? ” 

“Only the one of whom one never really knows 
whether it is a boy or a girl.” 

** And you know the Harper, too? ” 

* The Harper, too.” 

“What are his relations to Mignon? ” 


164 THE ADVENTURER 


“That probably is hidden behind a veil even to 
himself. Is he her father, her business manager, or 
her lover? ” 

** Would that not be a suitable réle for you? ” 

“Listen here,” said Otten, and caught her by the 
chin. ‘ Even if a few gray hairs are showing on my 
head, I beg you very much not to dispose of me as a 
mysterious old man with rattling bones as yet. Or 
shall I teach you respect? ” 

“Then only Mignon remains,” she laughed under 
his grasp. | 

** A being of whose womanhood I am not even con- 
vinced. O Maria, have I lived with you for nothing.” 

She closed his mouth with her hand. 

“ The wife of your friend Liittgen was here.” 

He looked at her in surprise. “ Frau Amely 
Here? ” 

* On account of her costume-féte.” 

** But I had declined her invitation in no uncertain 
way,” he grumbled, letting go her chin. 

“She insisted that you destroyed her plans. She 
needed you as a partner.” 

**T am interested to know what for? ” 

* As harper. And she would, for your sake, become 
a most charming Mignon.” 

Otten walked to the window and drummed on the 
panes. “A very good idea,” he finally said. “Too 
bad that that part is not in my repertoire.” 

“Won't you go, Joseph? ” 

“To make myself ridiculous? The whole thing is 
satire.” He came back, placed his arm about Frau 
Maria, and walked with her through the room. “ Let’s 
talk of something else. That matter is disposed of.” 





p 


THE ADVENTURER 165 


In the meanwhile Carmen had set the table. Frau 
Maria served the meal herself. A merry atmosphere 
prevailed in the room. In the midst of the conversa- 
tion he asked, “ At any rate, how did she impress 
you?” 

Frau Maria looked at him smilingly. ‘“ The wife of 
your friend? What was it you called her? Frau 
Amely? Well, Joseph, I think just as she impressed 
you. Very fetching, but—a person cannot size her 
up exactly.” 

“Yes, yes, yes. One does not know exactly, boy or 
girl.” 

In the afternoon there was some music. Otten sang 
a few ballads and some folksongs, and he allowed his 
art to lead him on further. ‘“ Now I will recite a few 
verses. Now see if I have spoiled in a single instance 
the spirit of the poetry for the sake of musical 
phraseology. One does not sing mere tunes, one sings 
a song of words and meaning!” And he recited the 
verses in a manner that showed their innermost feeling. 
Frau Maria sat as if in a trance. 

‘Has she really any spirit? ” 

“Who, Joseph? ” - 

“Oh, I just thought of it. You had quite a con- 
versation. But let’s leave her in peace.” 

The evening passed like a gorgeous sunset. And 
when night came, it permeated the room where these 
three beings sat together like a blessed verse of a beau- 
tiful song, dying out away in the distance... . 

* Good-night, Carmen. Good-night, daughter dear.” 

Then Joseph Otten and Maria went to rest, too. 

** Say—Maria! ” 

“ Joseph? ” 


166 THE ADVENTURER 


* At any rate, she is not one of the common herd. 
There is something of the sphinx about her. Alluring 
and cruel. Poor victims a 

“ Big boy,” Frau Maria laughed softly. . . . With- 
in her soul and about her it was still Sunday. 





CHAPTER X 





Rost Monpay Harlequins, to your work of 
joy and merriment! The liberty of masquerade! A 
whole city in ecstasy. 

In the crowded streets and alleys of the old city 
hilarity was let loose. Folly reigned supreme and 
trampled sober sense to the dust. It spoke its own 
language, sang and shrieked without regard for the 
ear-drums of those about; it made its own music, try- 
ing to do justice to the joy of Cologne with rattles, 
whistles of fearful sound, with mouth-organs, and other 
implements of musical torture; it sang its own songs, 
wore its own particular garb, and wherever beauty was 
wanting, enthusiasm made up for it. 

Rose Monday... . 

The Hohestrasse was the vortex of this human whirl- 
pool. Whoever looked out of the windows, saw a 
turbulent sea of blue, red, yellow, and green, whose 
waves were now flowing this way, now that. Dominos, 
peasants in blue blouses, Princes of Hades, witches and 
ballet girls, clowns, harlequins, and fairies, alleged 
Englishmen in checked suits of the loudest patterns, 
tramps, masks of great politicians, and other famous 
men, men and women in fanciful costumes were in the 
merry throng. Where two people with anything in the 
nature of musical instruments met, they formed a band, 
and gave awful concerts for the benefit of the others, 
that were fearful to hear, but irresistibly funny. There 

167 


168 THE ADVENTURER 


were many chases after shy beauties, and once in a while 
a scream would prove that a kiss had been snatched. 

A bunch of checkered fools stormed into the crowd 
and dealt blows with their very deadly weapons—in- 
flated bladders—and cracked their whips over the 
heads of the crowd. “The parade! The parade! 
Make room for the parade! Oh, you tempting girl, 
T’ll eat you alive!” 

Then the carnival parade appeared. In the lead, ac- 
cording to old custom, farmers and maidens of Cologne; 
the spark company next, a caricature of the city sol- 
diery of bygone days; and then float after float, re- 
viewing the year’s events in humorous pictures. The 
City Council came in for its share of criticism and 
recognition; weighty questions were solved in true 
jester’s fashion; and each stunt tried to outdo the one 
preceding. Printed copies of songs were thrown among 
the crowd, and one band after the other passed, en- 
livening the parade with suitable music. Costumed 
horsemen tickled beauties in the crowd with long pea- 
cock feathers, “Go on, ye villains! ”—‘ What’s the 
matter, sweet, why so angry? Surely a peacock’s eye 
never grows blind to beauty!” Then came Prince Car- 
nival himself, the Prince of Folly, with his lady, in 
gorgeous robes, both high above the crowd, reclining 
in their gilded chariot, and calling out the gracious 
proclamation of cheer: “ To all my fellow fools! Alaaf 
Kolle! Cologne, make merry!” 

Joseph Otten had dined in a restaurant in the Hohe- 
strasse. With him at the table, which had been moved 
close to one of the windows, overlooking the gay street 
scene, sat Carmen and Moritz Lachner. Frau Maria 
had remained at home. “I get more pleasure out of 


THE ADVENTURER 169 


it,” she had said, “if I let you tell me about it later. 
Then I will be the audience, and you will have the 
pleasure twice.” 

With amused glances Otten watched his daughter. 
She carried her slender figure like a lady, and tried to 
act as if she were in the habit of dining daily in the 
very best of restaurants, enjoying the fun of the people 
in the street just the same as if she were in Nice or 
Rome. “She outruns her years in mind and in 
growth,” Otten thought. ‘“ A person might think she 
were sixteen, and she is fully aware of it.” In contrast 
to the self-possessed little girl, Moritz Lachner al- 
ways remained so conscious of his awkwardness and 
lack of polish, that he only dared at times to look 
hastily about. Then Carmen would ask in astonish- 
ment: “Do you wish anything, Moritz? Don’t you 
like it? °—* No, no,—Oh, yes! ” 

When the masquerade approached, Otten lifted the 
girl upon the table with a graceful swing, and then 
placed his arm about her waist. And she placed her 
hand caressingly on his head, thinking: “ Now the peo- 
ple will believe that he is my fiancé.” This fancy made 
her proud, and gave to her fine features an expression 
of condescension. Moritz Lachner never took his eyes 
from her. Rose Monday had no secrets to reveal to 
him. 

“Oh, father, look there! ” 

“The handsome color-bearer of the medieval war- 
riors? ” 

“Oh, that is our beer dealer. No, that red devil 
there, who is walking as if on air. Do you see him? 
Don’t you recognize him? Now he has discovered us. 
Hurrah!” And she waved her hand. 


170 THE ADVENTURER 


“ That is Laurenz Terbroich,” said Moritz Lachner. 

*T don’t like him very much, Carmen,” Otten re- 
marked. ‘* His devil is affected, and so is he.” 

* Oh, well, father, but it is carnival time now. Al- 
low him to join us.” 

* Well, my child, if I am to see your friend only on 
carnival days, I'll be content. He is loose and imper- 
tinent. To-day he may have the liberty the masquerade 
accords. The devil’s greeting, Herr Terbroich.” 

“The devil, Herr Doktor!” The red_ silken 
Mephisto had crossed the restaurant with grotesque 
bounds, and seemed intent on grasping the laughing 
girl. “Is that all you wish?” said Otten, catching 
and stopping the devil. 

** My grandmother sends her regards, Herr Doktor. 
She requests you to pay her a call some day.” 

‘TI will send you to her to announce me, if you do 
not behave. Now sit down. Here is a glass of cham- 
pagne. Now we will sing and be merry, until the crowd 
out there has dispersed.” He lifted the girl from the 
table. The waves of the merry throng overflowed 
into the restaurant. 





* Carmen ” Laurenz Terbroich whispered. He 
sat beside her, and caught her hand, that was swinging 
idly. 

“Well? ” 


“Get your father to take you to the Giirzenich Ball 
to-night.” | 

“Tam not allowed yet. Surely not.” 

“Oh, ask him. Half of the dancing-school will be 
there.” 

*‘ Father,” Carmen coaxed, “where are we going 
from here? ” 


THE ADVENTURER 171 


* Home, Miss Gad-about.” 

* Are you going to stay home, too? Tell me. Or 
are you going to the Giirzenich? Oh, do tell me.” 

“I suppose you would like to go there, too? Child, 
it is out of the question.” 

“If I wear a domino, I'll look like a full-grown per- 
son. Say—then you and I will be the handsomest 
couple. No, really. And you know it yourself, too. 
Oh, father, do me the favor. It would please me so 
much. I have never asked you for such a favor be- 
fore.” 

He patted her heated cheek. ‘ Well, well, well! I 
would not mind, but mother will not permit it.” 

“ Oh, if you'll only tell her in the right way. Laurenz 
is going, too.” 

** Am I to consider that as an inducement? ” 

** Moritz, too,” she said quickly, and her look flashed 
a command to the graduate. 

‘What? Moritz, too? You intend to go to the 
Giirzenich ball, Moritz? ” 

Moritz sat there with burning face. He felt the sur- 
prised look of Otten. But he also felt the request in 
the glance of the girl. ‘ Yes, Herr Doktor,” he said. 
“T intended to go. And I should not leave Carmen 
out of my sight there.” 

Laurenz Terbroich looked unsteadily into his glass. 
Otten looked slowly from one to the other. “ This 
looks to me like a conspiracy. But if the thing is con- 
sidered so important that even Moritz lies e 

“ Herr Doktor, I am really going to the Giirzenich 
ball. And I can easily get dominos for all of us from 
my father’s shop. It will give him pleasure.” 

** You need carry your explanation no further. Why, 





172 THE ADVENTURER 


you are a hopeless lot. Am I to go to the Giirzenich as 
a kindergartener? ” 

* Father, be nice! You shall pay us no attention at 
all.” 

* Just the other way, my hearty. I should want to 
notice you very much.” 

* Surely, I'll behave like a real lady.” 

“You probably imagine yourself one already, 
baby? ” 

* Just look at me,” she said with a display of van- 
ity, and hugged him amidst the noise of the place. Then 
he relented. 

** Now, finish your drinks, gentlemen. We'll make a 
beeline for the Rheingasse. The red silk devil will clear 
the way for us, and Moritz and I, with Carmen between 
us, will stick to his heels. Here, waiter! The bill 
So, that is disposed of. And now, forward, 
march! ” 

“ Alaaf Kélle!” the red devil yelled, jumping out of 
the restaurant into the throng, breaking a path. Otten 
and Lachner pushed after him. The girl hung between 
them. They reached a side street, and entered it. 
Here they found breathing-room, and, without interfer- 
ence, they reached the Rheingasse within ten minutes. 
Moritz Lachner left them. “I'll be back in half an 
hour with the dominos.” Carmen turned about on the 
stairs and waved her hand after him. 

* Maria,” Otten said to his wife, when he was up- 
stairs, “I have made a foolish promise.” 

“ You know it is carnival time, Joseph.” 

“T thought of that, too. Then one eye must be 
closed. But now, I suppose, I have to tell you about 
it.” 





THE ADVENTURER 173 


* You want to attend the Giirzenich ball. Have I 
guessed it? ” 

“ Half of it. And the other half is this: I have 
promised the young folks to take them along.” 

“No, Joseph, that won’t do. Carmen was four- 
teen only the other day. And then, Laurenz. He im- 
presses her too much as it is through his father’s 
money.” 

** We will have Moritz Lachner along, to balance the 
scales. And then: Won’t I be there with them? ” 

“As far as the entrance.” She closed his mouth 
with her hand. “ Are you ready to make more rash 
promises? As soon as Moritz comes, I will talk with 
him. He shall look after all of you.” 

“In other words: You consent. Oh, Maria, you en- 
courage your husband’s frivolity. But, really, I 
could not help myself. Carmen gave me too nice a 
hug.” 

* Let’s hope she’ll be the only girl who will hug 
you to-night,” she joked. 

“With my hair getting gray? ” 

“Your hair is always growing gray, when it suits 
you. And I fear—only with me!” 

* Carmen! ” Otten called through the door. “ Mother 
has given her consent! Come, give her a kiss, for now 
she is saying carnivalistic things. Oh, children,” and 
he folded Maria and Carmen into one embrace, “ it is 
a merry world, after all! And here comes Moritz.” 

Moritz Lachner came up the stairs. He carried a 
black bundle on his arm like a tailor. Carmen pulled 
him into the room and began hurriedly to undo the 
package. Two black dominos and a fine red silk one 
fell out. “That is for me,” Carmen called out hap- 


174 THE ADVENTURER 


pily. “That you should have thought of the color, 
Moritz.” 

“The red will look well with your black hair, Car- 
men.” 

** No, now we have costumes to match, Laurenz and 
I. That is fine.” 

Moritz Lachner had not thought of that. Silently 
he helped her to get into the elegant covering, that 
reached down to her feet, and made her appear tall and 
slender. And silently he fastened the silk mask before 
her eyes. She stood in front of the mirror and looked 
in astonishment at herself. A deep breath made the 
silk tremble over her bosom. 

Frau Maria called Moritz to her with a motion of her 
hand. ‘“ Moritz, I will confide her to you. I will not 
spoil the child’s fun. But I permit her to go only be- 
cause you are going along.” She gave him her hand. 

*T will not let myself be forced from her side, Frau 
Doktor.” He raised his head. In the presence of this 
lady he felt free and at ease. And she nodded to him 
like a kind mother. 

Carmen had slipped into the adjoining room to her 
friend Laurenz. With her hands behind her, she stood 
there, balancing herself upon tiptoes. 

* Donnerwetter, Carmen ee 

** How do you like me this way? ” 

“JT just told you.” 

“You said: Donnerwetter. That means nothing at 
all.” 

“I'd like to give you a kiss, Carmen 

“If you promise never to kiss another. 

* Carmen, I swear it to you!” 

* Later——_!” 





” 





bd 





THE ADVENTURER 175 


Frau Maria called them into the dining-room. 
** First, you all take a bite. And a good big one, for 
afterwards I cannot watch you. And with it you will 
drink a glass of Cologne beer. Klaus has brought a 
fresh pitcherful from across the street. You will still 
reach the Giirzenich ball much too early.” 

Moritz Lachner remained standing behind his chair. 
“Pardon me,” he stammered. And then he took the 
glass of beer, and said quietly, without hesitation: “ I 
would like to drink to the health of the lady who al- 
ways thinks only of us, who wishes nothing but our 
good—to the health of the lady of this house, the ideal 
for all of us. Frau Doktor Otten—she shall live— 
hoch, hoch, hoch! ” 

Joseph Otten arose, clinked glasses with him, caught 
him by his vest. Their shining eyes met. Then he 
released him. 

“ Mother,” Carmen called out, “ Moritz is in love 
with you.” 

“He is in love with everything that bears the name 
of ‘ Otten,’” young Terbroich said. “It has always 
been that way. My, what a heart!” 

Moritz Lachner sat down. He looked smilingly at 
his plate. 

When Joseph Otten and his little troop entered the 
festive hall, he pulled the hood of his domino farther 
over his eyes. A thrill ran through his veins, a feeling 
of unbounded joy, at being permitted to be young once 
more, a willful desire to make the most of this oppor- 
tunity. The music of the violins sounded in his ears, 
making his very thoughts dance. Graceful figures of 
women flitted about. Provocative glances flashed from 
behind masks met other glances, and quickened the re- 


176 THE ADVENTURER 


sponsive blood. The joyous clinking of wine-glasses 
came like the sound of tiny silver bells from the tables 
in the background. Otten thought of giving a few in- 
structions to the youngsters, when something flitted 
past him like a red flame, a red devil and a red domino 
amidst waltz music, laughter, and the babel of voices. 

“ Twelve o’clock sharp, at this entrance, Moritz. If 
we miss one another, straight home! ” 

The black domino at his side silently slipped away. 

“This music is intoxicating,’ Otten thought. 
* These colors, these graceful motions, and this quiver- 
ing life all about.” 

A troop of girls surrounded him. Tyroleans, gyp- 
sies, schoolgirls in short skirts and long stockings, with 
slate, slate-pencil boxes, and sponges at their sides. 
They sang an old song, that he had often sung in child- 
hood days, danced about him, and he was transported 
back to his schooldays. The years between no longer 
existed for him. He played like a happy child with 
the crowd. At the end of the song, a schoolgirl was 
pushed into his arms, and the crowd dispersed. For a 
moment he held the young girl tightly, and then, with 
a wide sweep, he waltzed with his captive into the crowd 
of dancers. 

“For a domino, your voice is quite developed,” she 
joked. 

“ And you are quite tall for a schoolgirl.” 

* T only look that way,” she tittered. 

* But I can feel it, too,” Otten replied, drawing her 
closer. She rested her head against his shoulder, while 
they danced and hummed the tune of the waltz... . 

* Halt, mask! ” 

He released his dancing-partner and turned to the 


THE ADVENTURER 177 


one who had hailed him. “Ah! My respects, beauti- 
ful duchess.” 

“Do you know me? ” 

“I know you, for you are in every woman. You 
are Eve, and to-day it pleases you to dance as the 
Duchess von Berg.” 

* And if it should please me to dance with you? ” 

** Duchesses are usually rather forgetful afterwards. 
But I, too, have royal blood. Remember that.” 

* Will you? ” 

* The hour wills it.” 

He placed his arm about her waist, that appeared 
even more slender, as the skirt puffed above the hips 
was caught beneath his arm. 

“You have an iron grasp,” she said, bending back- 
ward while she danced. ‘‘ With what sort of creatures 
have you danced in life? ” 

** With girls who love men,” he sang into her ear. 

“Men? Where are they? I am anxious to know a 
man.” 

* Marry, beautiful duchess.” 

“T did. And I became more anxious than ever.” 

* Poor duke! ” 

* Do you think him poorer than I? ” 

“Him! Whom else, but him! For he has a white 
wife with red blood, and knows it not.” 

The violins shrieked joyously, and the crowd shrieked 
with them. The intoxication of joy was in the very 
air. It filled hearts and heads. 

“You men are egotists. Because you feel the same 
deficiency is in all of you, you unite against us. You 
talk so much and so loudly of love to make us believe 
that you understand it. And you don’t.” 


178 THE ADVENTURER 


“Teach me better, and you have your first 
pupil.” 

‘With frivolity you will not reach the basis of 
things. When you attack, we surrender. But when we 
command, we give. Do you feel the difference? ” 

“No, gracious lady. For, when you surrender, the 
second part devolves upon the real knight of the joust. 
Through his own nobility to change the captive into 
a willing giver. ‘To coax modest, sprouting springtime 
from the winter’s grasp; to change spring into sum- 
mery heat, and summer to the ripening of fall. Only 
development makes us happy and keeps us full of life 
worth living. A gift. It is old to-morrow.” 

They promenaded between rows of couples, brought 
together by chance, design, or merry intrigue. 

** Be honest, domino. You say it yourself. Change 
makes happy. The search and the progress. And 
you are satisfied with the surface. But we.” 

* You drink the blood.” 

“We drink the blood ” 

They took seats at a small table, and Otten filled 
two champagne glasses. She looked at his hand. 
“ Have I frightened you? ” 

* You carry strange thoughts about in that pretty 
little head of yours. Let me look into your heart. I 
only see the white skin on the surface.” 

“That expresses more than the confession of faith 
we carry about in our mouths. Among people of spirit. 
But, where are we? ” 

“The one drinks to the health of the other, even 
though it is not blood.” 

She raised her glass and drank beneath the silken 
mask. “No blood The word has_ frightened 








THE ADVENTURER 179 


you at any rate, or made you start at least. Why, 
pray, if we both confess to belong to the same breed? 
If I love this glass of wine, I drink it to the dregs. 
And if I love a human being, should I only sip at the 
surface? To keep a glass of wine, for to-morrow and 
for the day after? So that the wine may grow sour, 
or that some other fellow may drink it in my stead? 
Don’t let us lie to one another with pretty words. 
People like us do not love every Tom, Dick, or Harry. 
They love in others something they do not possess 
themselves, something they wish for. And when we 
give, we know that we exchange, and that we are gain- 
ers by the exchange. The blood of the other strength- 
ens us, it is his best and innermost. In that sense we 
drink blood—when we love.” 

** And when the one is drained dry? ” 

“Then it is the end. No finer death in the 
world.” 

Otten bent forward. Out of the eye-holes of the 
mask a flashing glance met his. 

Again the violins shrieked joyously, and Otten sar- 
castically said to the silk mask: 

“That may be a pretty play, daring lady, but it is 
not love.” 

“Not the love of a schoolgirl of twenty, with flut- 
tering skirts. Was your former dancer worth an ex- 
amination? Or the love of the time when grand- 
father and grandmother met? No, our love.” 

Otten emptied his glass to the last drop. “ Let us 
not quarrel about the word. If you claim it for your- 
self, it shall be called love. But your accounting of 
love contains an error.” 


* Which is? ” 


180 THE ADVENTURER 
“They both might remain dead on the field. He and 


she. Finis Polonie.” 

* Oh,” she laughed. ‘I know myself.” 

* But you don’t know man. Not yet. That was 
our starting-point! ” 

* And you, proud domino, always speak of him only, 
but do not reveal him. That is the way of men, and 
with you—pardon me—complicated by the singer.” 

* You—know—me? ” 

** It seems to me,” said the Duchess, leaning back in 
her chair, “ that I know the secret better than you 
yourself. Shall I disclose it to you? If you had been 
born as a woman, you would be I. But, since you were 
born a man ea 

Otten, too, had leaned back far in his chair. “I 
have not forgotten the word of Goethe: Women are 
dishes of silver, into which we lay apples of gold. Leave 
me that belief, charming unknown. You gain by 
1 Rg 

She raised her head, as if she were listening. Then 
she arose languidly. “I find that saying full of sense. 
But, this is carnival, and I would like to enjoy the 
ronsense of life. Let us go.” 

** Ts the unknown duchess of women angry with me? ” 

** She is not angry. Only she finds things tedious.” 

“That is a death warrant. And as I must die in your 
eyes at any rate, I should like to enjoy the hour.” 

* Women have no logic, and men have less. There- 
fore do not kiss me. You’ll gain by it.” 

** Ah—do you turn the weapons about? One can 
also kiss to injure.” 

She placed her hand on his with a firm “ Attention. 
The duke is coming. We'll continue talking.” 





THE ADVENTURER 181 


A clumsy domino pushed his way through the crowd. 
Now he had reached the table. In high spirits he 
slapped Otten heartily on the shoulder. “ Jupp, Jupp! 
How ill you look!” 

“Does everybody know me here, in spite of the 
mask? ” 

“In the first place, your figure. And, secondly, that 
my wife has captured you and held you prisoner. Oh 
—Donnerwetter—I should not have blurted out secrets? 
Well, it is done. Had a good time? ” 

“Frau Amely Liittgen ” Otten said slowly, 
bowed, and kissed her hand. 

“TI am engaged in admonishing your friend to be a 
bit more polite to women.” 

“Does he not permit you to twist him about your 
finger? That is very wrong of him. Perhaps you'll 
succeed with other means.” 

For a moment she lifted the silken mask. The eyes 
glowed in her pale face. “To see these angry eyes 
grow soft ” Otten thought, and could not take his 
looks away from the nervous little face... . 

* Now the charm of the intrigue is gone,” she said 
and fanned herself. ‘“ And it is too late for new ad- 
ventures. In a quarter of an hour the unmasking be- 
gins. And I would not care to be here then. Let us 
drive home.” 

“ Us——? ” Otten repeated. 

“If you consider yourself to belong to our com- 
munity.” The sentence had a hidden meaning, and she 
knew that he understood it. 

“Otten drives along,” the manufacturer decided. 
“ Joseph, my friend, do it for my sake. A bottle of 
Rauenthaler and a good men’s talk at home.” 








182 THE ADVENTURER 


* And I? ” Frau Amely asked, lowering her mask. 

“A men’s talk,” Otten replied, “can be a good one 
only when a woman leads it.” 

When they sat in the carriage, Otten clapped his 
hand to his forehead. 

“What is the trouble, Herr Doktor? Forgotten a 
rendezvous? That pretty schoolgirl? The maturing 
of spring to summer heat? Goodness, we’re not en- 
vious. We’ll drive you back.” 

“T have left my daughter at the ball.” 

“Do you suddenly wish to play the old man? The 
so-called father? Fear nothing. We drink Rauen- 
thaler and carry on a good men’s talk. Everything 
properly tempered.” 

“Duchess, your ridicule could make men out of 
youths, and out of men ” 

“se Well? ” 

“The man.” 

Had he been mistaken? It had seemed to him as if 
her cool fingers had touched his hand in passing quite 
accidentally. He felt it by the sudden stopping of 
his heartbeat. _No—it had been a mistake. She looked 
out of the window of the rapidly moving vehicle, lost 
in thought. Hence he must have been mistaken. But 
the thought that it could have been remained, and he 
felt that his hot heart still beat irregularly. Foolish- 
ness! This woman! “I hate her,” her husband had 
said. And he? He did not hate her. Neither did 
he love her. But she was unusual. She interested him 
—as a challenge to his strength. 

* Young Lachner will bring Carmen home in proper 
time,” he reassured himself. “ Perhaps they are al- 
ready at home and are joking with Frau Maria about 





THE ADVENTURER 183 


the runaway father.”—Maria—Carmen—father—the 
words flashed through his thoughts and were lost. “ She 
has touched my hand at any rate——” 

** At what time shall the driver await you, Herr Dok- 
tor?” Frau Amely asked, as the carriage stopped. 
“You see how soberly the hour of midnight has 
passed.” 

* At one, gracious lady. Then the hour of spooks 
and spirits is at an end.” 

“For to-day. Or for those whose spirit suffices for 
only an hour. Step in, gentlemen. The driver has his 
orders, Herr Doktor.” 

In the hall the gentlemen removed their dominos. 
When they entered the salon, they heard the sound of 
music come from the adjoining room. Frau Amely, still 
in the costume of the Bergish duchess, the auburn curls 
falling upon her bare neck, sat in the music-room at 
the concert-grand and played a wild, masterful fantasy, 
through which, at times, the sounds of violins and flutes 
seemed to come. Too unholy for wedding-march, 
and for ordinary dancing too wild and capricious.— 
True carnival music. 

“Come,” said Liittgen, pulling his friend by the 
sleeve ; “ we have heard nothing. That may last a long 
while. We'll start on a pilgrimage toward Rauenthal.” 
The spirit of wine swayed his mood. 

Mechanically Otten removed the other’s hand. He 
stepped over to the piano. “ What am I playing?” 
Her eyes asked the question. And he answered aloud: 
“With that only one poem could be recited, and you 
have thought of that.” She nodded, but kept on, look- 
ing at him, and continued playing. And he continued: 
“The Duchess of Berg is in good spirits, when she 


184 THE ADVENTURER 


grants an audience to memories—or does it mean 
more?” She looked at him, played, and smiled. 

“This is getting to be too mystic for me,” said the 
master of the house. “I'll bring the wine here, or 
it will remain untasted.” And he disappeared into his 
workroom. And, accompanied by the wild melody, Ot- 
ten began to recite the ballad of the Schelm zu Bergen, 
and to live it while reciting. 

They were alone, and yet the room was filled with 
figures gay and fanciful, engendered by the sound of his 
voice. Figures of mummery in the merry castle at 
Diisseldorf. And they were in the midst of the throng. 
A curl fell into her face. He stepped closer and 
stroked it back. His hand rested upon her cool smooth 
shoulder. And as he finished the ballad, the woman 
at the piano bent her head back until she could look 
up into his eyes, and repeated the last line of the 
poem: “‘ The duchess laughed: I’ll not let you go, until 
I have seen your face.” 

The mummery was at anend. The figures conjured 
forth fled away and vanished in the corners. They 
were alone again amidst reality. 

“Let. us stop now,” said Otten and stepped back. 
With bottles and glasses clinking, the master of the 
house returned through the adjoining room. Frau 
Amely closed the instrument and swung about on the 
piano-stool to face the gentlemen. “ Is this the proper 
place? ” 

* If you desire, I’ll retreat quickly.” 

“No,” she decided. ‘That would spoil the atmos- 
phere and the mood. To-day everything is permitted. 
The duchess—is satisfied % 

* Let’s drink and talk, with never a sigh,” Liittgen 





THE ADVENTURER 185 


replied, laughing, and filled the glasses. “You belong 
to us, Joseph. To me, I mean. Here’s to you! To 
the spring at Godesberg. My country house shall see 
days of which it has never dreamt.” He was getting 
sentimental and blurted forth assurances of friendship. 

A carriage drove up outside. The coachman 
cracked his whip. “The hour is past,” Otten said, 
arising. “Remain seated. I'll just take the domino 
over my arm. Good-night, Liittgen.” 

* Don’t forget Godesberg,” the master of the house 
called after him. The lady escorted Otten into the hall. 
“Do you know why I ordered the carriage for 
you? ” 

* Surely not so I would not catch cold.” 

“Because I wished you to drive directly home from 
here.” 

“ The reason? ” 

* You shall not come into contact with anyone else 
to-night. The atmosphere you take with you from 
my room shall linger about you.. That is—my gift as 
hostess.” 

* Good-night, gracious madam.” 

He sat in the carriage and hummed the tune that 
was in his mind. From the Giirzenich, from Frau 
Amely’s music-room. He stroked his mustache. What 
was that? Frau Amely?—Was her image so vivid in 
his mind that he could still perceive the fine perfume 
of her presence even here?—He smiled. The odor 
came from his hand. And his hand had rested upon 
her shoulder. . . . 

“She knows all the tricks of the witches,” he 
thought, and from time to time he stroked his mus- 
tache. ... 


186 THE ADVENTURER 


At home he saw Carmen’s red domino on a chair. 
“ She is at home.” Thoughtfully he looked at the dom- 
ino. “ How tall the girl has grown! A few more 
years and I ” He dropped the garment. ‘“ Well, 
I must not think. Only of to-day. And now I have 
the power to prolong that.” 





CHAPTER XI 


Tuere was silence between husband and wife. Ot- 
ten sat at the table, opened his mail, and looked 
through the letters. When he had laid away a letter, 
he grasped it a second time. He had read the lines, 
without retaining their meaning. Frau Maria looked 
at him for a while. Then she went to him, and placed 
her hand upon his arm. ‘“ Joseph.” 

He looked up. “Listen. Here my agent 
writes ‘3 

* You don’t know yet yourself what, Joseph. I 
have been watching you, and have seen that, while you 
read, you were not at your task. Read later, when you 
are quiet.” 

** When I am quiet? ” 

“Yes. Surely, I did not wish to criticise you. I 
alone deserve reproach. As a mother, I should have 
known that a fourteen-year-old daughter ought not to 
be permitted to visit a masquerade ball alone.” 

** Alone? ” 

* One child alone, or two children together. It is 
the same thing. I ought to have known my two chil- 
dren, my big boy and my little girl, and that both of 
them would play tricks and do stunts on their own 
account.” 

“But Carmen did not do that. The situation is 
much more simple than you think. Only, you must 
get things properly focused. She remained an hour 

187 





188 THE ADVENTURER 


beyond the permitted time. That shows that she is 
still child enough to thoroughly enjoy the fun of the 
mummery. And, then, Moritz Lachner was at her side, 
which must seem more important to you, than if I had 
held her hand in mine all evening long, inasmuch as you 
don’t seem to consider me a very good guardian.” 

“That was an accident, Joseph. <A happy, fortunate 
accident. For else, Carmen would in all probability 
not have returned home until morning. That is what 
worries me. She has your blood, and I don’t regret 
that, for I love it in you. But I have the double duty 
of keeping this spirit within proper bounds. It makes 
a difference, whether a man or a woman does a certain 
thing. Modern equality movements have no connec- 
tion with that. It is a matter of sex and of condi- 
tions. There are things a man may do with grace, 
that a woman may not, if she does not wish to lose 
her worth to herself and to others. And as yet I miss 
in Carmen the proper understanding of that.” 

** How seriously you say that. And, really, on ac- 
count of a small matter.” 

“No, on account of a sign. You have not the eye 
for it, Joseph. And you could not have it, because you 
see your daughter only at times and in mutual Sunday 
mood. But I see her on weekdays as well. And from 
all my care in rearing her, I wish nothing as fervently 
as to preserve and create for her that happy Sunday 
mood for every day in the year. And that is only 
possible if I take care that Sundays and holidays do 
not leave a bitter after-taste behind. When she came 
home—do you think that she was more than happy 
over the unusual treat? She was angry. So angry 
that she cried, and instead of thanks, she was full of re- 


THE ADVENTURER 189 


proaches. Moritz, she said, had spoiled her entire 
evening. He had not brought the red domino because 
it had the same color as Laurenz’s costume, but be- 
cause it enabled him, Moritz, to always recognize her 
in the turmoil, and to remain near her. And Moritz 
had not permitted her to drink champagne at strange 
tables, like the others. And Moritz had started to 
quarrel when she wanted to go with all the other pupils 
of the dancing school to a café. And all that she said 
without realizing that Moritz had prevented her with 
proper tact from doing things she should not do. 
And I, the mother, who ought to have known all this 
in advance, had quietly remained at home. That is 
very humiliating for me.” 

“No,” said Otten. “It is humiliating for me. I 
had taken the responsibility of watching over her. But 
I recognize more and more my inability to bring up 
human beings differently from myself. And to bring 
them up in my fashion would not be advantageous for 
beings that are not yet hardened, for they only imitate 
the superficial part. I realize it. Therefore I am, 
through love of myself, on the very best road to upset 
my girlie’s thoughts, and, at best, to strengthen her 
in her stubbornness. Maria, in order that Carmen 
may some day cause less care to those who love her 
than I do to those who love me, I desist humbly from 
my attempt to aid in her bringing-up. I hope that my 
example has not yet caused too much harm.” 

“ Are we two good friends again? ” she asked. 

“It seems more important to me, whether you are 
my good friend again.” 

“Your best friend, Joseph. Nothing will ever be 
able to alter that.” 


190 THE ADVENTURER 


He drew her hand to his eyes. ‘“ Sit down with me. 
We'll read together, what the agent writes. Of course, 
he has the entire tour laid out. Everything cut and 
dried. London, Manchester, Glasgow. And for the 
‘ butter-week ” Russia—Moscow and St. Petersburg. 
A guaranteed amount for every city. That is good. 
Asks for an answer by telegram, in order to close the 
contract. First concert in London next week. So I’d 
be back early in May.” 

*T am glad of it, Joseph.” 

* That I am going away, or that I am coming back? ” 

** Glad of what it means for you.” 

** Yes—I must feel the movement of the air. I be- 
lieve my lungs need twice as much oxygen as other 
lungs. Things must be astir. Or I would go to 
pieces in the most beautiful sunshine. Maria, is this 
exaggerated need of life really enviable? ” 

“ Yes,” she said, pressing his hand; “if those who 
have it are people who can do justice to it.” 

“Do justice to it?” 

* Who do everything with the same spirit of joy. 
One must hear their merry laughter. I hear yours at 
all times.” 

He drew her to him. His head rested upon her 
breast. ‘ Good mother yd 





Joseph Otten had gone. From England he sent jolly 
letters and postal-cards. “ My agent, who is traveling 
with me, is so happy that he sings. As I sing better 
than he, I must be happier.” And another time: 
“That we never grow sensible is undoubtedly a provi- 
sion God made in His kindness, so that we should have 


THE ADVENTURER 191 


something left for our later years. Or, in order that 
we are not too disorderly at the beginning. Later on 
the toothache regulates the appetite. These English- 
women, Maria! When I was young and foolish, I 
thought them remnants of the glacial period. Now, 
since they are beginning to have confidence in my more 
matured and sedate personality—please not to read 
‘art °—I perceive that ice may burn one’s tongue. 
May? Might! The toothache rebels against too much 
sweetness, and I am saved.” 

Frau Maria read it and shook her head. “I don’t 
believe it. His teeth are his pride.” 

From Moscow Otten wrote to Frau Amely: 


“My dear madam! It is so bitterly cold here that 
the women wrap even their souls up in fur. That may 
suffice for the one standing outside to warm his hands. 
No more. Not to be opened! Or the moths will fly 
and you will smell camphor. That may be of no con- 
sequence in a city where they eat tallow candles like 
frankfurter sausages, but I was not born in that val- 
ley. I come from a country—be it Germany or else- 
where—where the flowers vie with each other in their 
fragrance. When you touch their blossoms, their scent 
remains. And there is one sort of rose there, neither 
La France, nor Dijon, nor tea-rose, nor American 
Beauty; only one specimen of the kind, christened by a 
connoisseur of flowers Duchess of Berg. What is her 
color? She has not shown it yet. No, no, certainly 
not. The color has not developed as yet, there being 
still too many thorns on her slender stem. Not for 
protection. Whoever seeks shelter behind a hedge of 
thorns does not receive the light of the passing day. 


192 THE ADVENTURER 


And yet, she has a fragrance that might some day be 
more than remembrance. Once I touched a leaf of a 
flower. That was like a cool, smooth shoulder. And 
the odor remained captive in my hand, and it beckons 
me from icy Moscow to the Spring on the Rhine, that 
will soon come over the Seven Mountains to adorn 
Godesberg. I hold the odor in my hand, and I no 
longer reach out with that hand, lest the fragrance 
be brushed off in the struggle of every-day existence. 
May the rose think likewise. Single specimens have 
the greatest responsibilities: to bless the people and to 
love the throne. That sounds like practical politics, 
but it is idealism. I ask you to share part of these 
greetings I send to my dear friend, the master of the 
house, and I shall welcome every warmed-over thought 
you may personally send to me in this desert of snow. 
Your devoted Joseph Otten.” 


At St. Petersburg he received the answer: 


Most honored Herr Doktor! I do not find your 
missive extraordinarily weighty. It is an old axiom, 
that people who are in a very cold place are longing 
for warmth, and that they wish for the roses of Spring- 
time, when Jack Frost has painted flowers upon the 
window-panes. Even if only for a specimen so much 
in need of development as the Duchess of Berg. In 
such cases people are not very particular. Aside from 
that: I have taken the liberty not to cut up the greet- 
ings into different parts, and to deliver some to an- 
other. Aside from the fact that I would be at some- 
what of a loss concerning the address of the ‘ master 
of the house,’ who is entirely unknown to me as such, 


THE ADVENTURER 193 


and will remain so, I have, as you know, a very strong 
dislike for halves and fractions. If you have greet- 
ings to send to Manufacturer Carl Liittgen at Co- 
logne on the Rhine, there probably can be obtained 
a postal-card for such purpose in the Empire of the 
Czar. I hope it will not rest too heavily upon your 
soul that I have appropriated all of those you have 
sent, for myself. There is one thing we agree in, viz., 
the thought of the arrival of Springtime on the Godes- 
berg. Seek no riddles behind this sentence. For per- 
sons who bless the people and love the thrones, none 
exist. If you will accept that as a warmed-over 
thought, this sign of highly cultivated intelligence will 
fill with especial regard yours, no less among the bar- 
barians, Amely L.” 


* Ah,” Otten thought, smoothing the note; “that is 
a daring move. Without asking me, she stamps our 
correspondence as secret. Now it is a case of fleeing, 
or fighting. Neutral territory is not respected. Such 
scruple our methods of warfare have laid aside with 
old-time morals. They sound the signal, ‘ Advance!’ 
without declaration of war and—hang it—I don’t wish 
any war with that ferret.” , 

He paced to and fro in his room in the hotel. “ That 
poor devil Liittgen,” he thought. ‘“ Why in the world 
did that good, clumsy fellow have to find this mistress 
of the fencer’s art, who is apparently made up of steel 
springs! God knows, I can understand him now. 
That is no love for life and for death. Instead of a 
heart, she demands nerves. And in his good old- 
fashioned way, Carl Liittgen has a heart. And it was 
returned to him in damaged condition.” 


194 THE ADVENTURER 


He took the letter again and read it a second time. 
He was laughing now. “ She is plucky, this reincarna- 
tion of Eve. She knows what she wants, but her logic 
is faulty. A fellow may play from mere love of the 
game. Like a child, trying to grasp the rays of the 
sun. Every memory be blessed. But one does not play 
through calculation. Then play becomes a business, 
and there remains only a person, who swears because 
he has been cheated. And that is ugly. And yet 
beauty is to be the only consideration. One way or 
the other. Well—you are mistaken in your calculations, 
Frau Amely ts 

In St. Petersburg Otten had to add two song recitals 
to his programme. He wrote about it to Maria. “ The 
people of St. Petersburg are Frenchmen. They do not 
hide their feelings. When they applaud, they grow 
delirious. Neither does my agent hide his feelings. 
He has ceased to sing. He dances. And when an 
agent does not hesitate to dance, it is a sure sign that 
he has skinned his client. But I demanded an extra 
waltz for the two extra recitals. He suddenly grew 
shy, and said he was not so very sure on his feet. 
Then I grasped him about the waist, until it cracked, 
and—he could dance !—Now, I am asking myself: shall 
I go directly from the pleasant Neva to our gloomy 
Cologne, or shall I be careful and have some stop- 
overs at climatic way-stations? What does the solici- 
tous mother of the house think about it? I submit 
blindly to her better judgment. And Carmen? I hope 
that your art of rearing has entirely dissipated the ill ef- 
fects of her association with her big brother, which part 
I can’t help playing. I love you two very much. 
When my heart speaks, the golden dream of every 





THE ADVENTURER 195 


wanderer in far regions, whose heart loves home more 
longingly than he who never walks far from the city’s 
gate, then I see the silent, wonder-working picture of 
Maria Otten in the Rheingasse at Cologne. Ave 
Maria. ... Your Joseph.” 


Frau Maria read. Her eyes were moist. From the 
wall opposite her, his picture looked at her. The pic- 
ture of a man in cloak and soft felt-hat, looking into 
the world with laughing eyes. And, as she had done so 
often from love and in order to excuse him, she said 
again: “ One cannot look at the picture without grow- 
ing glad.” 


** My dear, big boy,” she answered his letter, “ I am 
happy over the good opinions you express. I am 
happy, and Carmen is proud. That is the little win- 
dow through which you can look into our home. Should 
you see more, keep it to yourself. But let me put my 
arms about your neck. Oh, you restless heart! And 
the more restless it is, the more I must love it. Thus, 
with an indescribable, natural feeling, mothers love the 
children of their sorrow most. I only wish one thing: 
That all the world could know you and your doings 
as I know them and understand them. That probably 
is a very womanlike thought, and I ought really to be 
ashamed, to wish to measure you with the standards of 
the world in general, which never realizes that the 
densest shadows are caused by the brightest sunshine. 
But in the bottom of her heart every woman is—just 
you smile at me—a very vain being, who only desires 
to be envied.—Carmen is in good health and industrious. 
She is preparing for her studies in the gymnasium 


196 THE ADVENTURER 


classes. Her fancy already sees the doctor’s cap. Just 
now, however, you occupy her mind even more, and 
she wants to hear me talk of you incessantly. I had 
intended to advise you anyway to stop at a climatic 
way-station—a good wife thinks of herself last 
Old Klaus is preparing us carefully for his intended re- 
moval to Zons. He expects that to occur next fall, 
for he insists that his relative’s time on earth will be 
up then. And a real householder, he says, has no busi- 
ness to be a burden to others, when there are other 
poorer devils deserving of promotion. We shall miss 
the honest old man very much. ... Farewell, Joseph. 
Carmen kisses you. And I? I love you always. Re- 
member that of your Maria.” 





“T love you always,” Otten repeated. ‘“ With her, 
that is not a mere conventional phrase.” 

During the following days Otten gave the additional 
recitals he had granted. Returning from the last con- 
cert to the hotel, he found a telegram awaiting him. 
He weighed the paper for a while in his hand. ‘“ Where 
does Fate call me now?” He opened hesitatingly. 


“The precursors of spring have arrived at Godes- 
berg. Do you understand their language? ” 


No signature. And why? Freemasonry knows no 
names. How girlishly joyful was that dispatch! And 
—the words exhaled the warm balmy scents and odors 
of spring. He saw sprouting park-trees, girlish figures 
in light-colored garments, singing, jumping, calling, re- 
treating Springtime, youth! And his heart was 
still with them. He felt this by its pulsation, and with 





THE ADVENTURER 197 


a strange smile Otten gazed dreamily into the distance. 
He felt the call of Spring and of Youth. And Spring 
and Youth call none but their own. His breath went 
like a sigh. And he said aloud, dwelling on each 
word: 

“T am still so youn t? 

The next morning he went. The dispatch was 
stamped Godesberg. Hence Frau Amely was there al- 
ready. Was she there with her husband? 

That thought was in his mind during the trip. Had 
the manufacturer remained in Cologne? If that was 
the case, he, Otten, could not remain at Godesberg. He 
was going to the joust, ride who may, to capture a 
wreath here or there, because Spring held her court. 
But he was not going to take part in some well-planned 
act of scoundrelism. 4 

When, after a ride in the train of two days’ duration, 
he arrived at the depot of Cologne, there to change 
cars to ride up along the Rhine, he was suddenly seized 
by a feeling of melancholy, that could not be shaken 
off, and that dispelled his joyous mood. Down there, 
through one of those narrow streets, Maria was walk- 
ing and telling a spirited girl of a victorious hero, as of 
a real Sigurd, a killer of dragons. And at the same 
time—the hero was going out to meet adventures. He 
wanted to rise, to leave the train. And then only he be- 
came aware that the train was in motion. He breathed 
a sigh of relief when the houses disappeared. And 
when Bonn loomed up, bathed in golden sunshine, his 
heaviness of spirit had entirely disappeared. When 
the legendary tops of the Seven Mountains were to be 
seen, and the old castle ruin of the Godesberg, sep- 
arated from them by the flowing Rhine, expectation 





198 THE ADVENTURER 


again buoyed up his soul. The same expectation that 
had always given new impulse and vigor to his life. His 
glances took in the rich landscape, and another, a great 
traveler, full of sunshine and power, came into his 
mind—Lord Byron, who had given to this district the 
name of the paradise. 

Paradise—— 

What was it that another wanderer, rich in adventure, 
had said, of this very word? And the stanza of Seume 
ran through his mind: “ Paradise and Hell on earth, 
thy name is woman.” 

The train came to a stop. He sprang from the 
compartment. Godesberg. 

At the depot he made inquiries about Liittgen’s villa. 
It was situated in a very secluded spot in the midst of 
a great park. “The owners have moved in already,” 
the station-master informed him. The owners? That 
meant both. Humming a jolly song, he walked along 
the road. He felt young and happy. _ 

“Joseph! Joseph! The first lark has arisen! 
Come in, come in!” 

“Who is there?” Frau Amely asked, sitting in a 
rocker on the sunny veranda. 

* Joseph Otten! So there you are, old man! True 
to your word, as a knight of old. No, this surprise! 
This surprise! Awfully glad to see you!” 

Excitedly the master of the house was patting Otten 
on the back, as if he must convince himself that it 
was really true that his friend was there. He shook 
him by the shoulders, and finally shoved him onto the 
veranda. 

** Ah, Herr Doktor!—You have not forgotten us in 
the great world outside? ” 


THE ADVENTURER 199 


* A little bird sang to me of the merry month of 
May at Godesberg.” 5 

“Aha? You stand in communication with Godes- 
berg? Oh, yes, the minnesingers were conversant with 
the language of the birds. But now you are here, be 
it surprising or not. And you are to us a most welcome 
guest.” 

“T am glad of it,” he said, struggling between anger 
and sarcasm. 

The manufacturer forced him into a garden seat. 
“TI cannot yet find words. Only the one thing. Here 
you anchor. The only road to liberty from here leads 
over my dead body. Birdie, thou art caught!” And 
again he slapped his friend’s back, thought for a mo- 
ment, asked about the luggage, and ran out to send a 
servant to the station for it. 

Joseph Otten leaned back in his seat and his eyes 
swept the beautiful garden, that was in the midst of the 
park. Beside him, the rocker kept up a regular motion. 
Now it stopped. A slender body leaned forward. A 
slender hand grasped his. ‘“ So—— I want my wel- 
come to myself, alone. Now Ibid you welcome. I have 
counted the hours, and I knew that you would come in 
this hour.” 

* Only you knew it? ” 

“ee Yes.” 

Her gray eyes smiled at him. They were searching 
his after the fashion of children. “ Angry? ”—And 
she sank back into the rocker, which at once resumed 
its motion. The master was coming through the hall, 
quite out of breath. 

* What is the pleasure of my distinguished guest? 
In half an hour we dine. We are punctual here in 


200 THE ADVENTURER 


the country. But a half hour suffices for two hearty 
fellows me 

** Three,” a voice from the rocker interrupted. 

Liittgen stopped. “You, too? Great honor. Well, 
then, suffices for three hearty fellows to raise their 
credit with the gods by bringing them a sacrifice of 
wine. Didn’t that strike you as being both poetical 
and commercial at the same time? Well, then, let’s 
drink to the firm of Otten, Liittgen and Company. Will 
we remain true to our old colors? With the wine of 
the Rhine, our goblets be filled? No _ hesitation, 
valiant vanquisher of the Russians. Only one glass—a 
drink of welcome.” 

Frau Amely stopped rocking. “ This time I'll get 
the wine. You shall find here a ‘ Hausfrau,’ you 
spoiled world-traveler. In my house I am the hostess.” 

The gentlemen looked after her. “ When she wishes 
to, she has charm,” the manufacturer said sarcastically. 
* And she wishes to.” 

* No compromise yet, Liittgen? ” 

“Long ago. A truce. There remains nothing: to 
fight about. Each goes his own road alone, and, inas- 
much as in this manner neither disturbs the other, we 
are quite up to date, and live in what the world calls 
ideal marital relations.” 

* But I find you quite comfortably together here? ” 

“For years I have spent my early vacations here. 
When springtime arrives I am so fagged out from 
work and social obligations throughout the winter, 
that I have a longing to stretch, and rest, and take 
things easy for a while. This time my wife shared 
the longing. In little things we are very attentive to 
each other.” 





THE ADVENTURER 201 


* Perhaps I disturb.” 

“Are you crazy? Disturb? I guess not. On the 
contrary, it was an absolutely unnatural condition in 
which we found ourselves here. Two people, who have 
absolutely nothing to say to each other, are sitting on 
a lonely island. For decorative purposes. Very ef- 
fective, but stiff. Between you and me, I have been 
bored to death by this oppressive silence. You have 
broken the ban. Now, there will be some life here.” 

* Liittgen—I’ll not be able to play the ‘ cavaliere 
servente’ during my stay here. Every lady has a 
right to demand that from a guest. Or the guest 
should silently close the door from without.” 

Liittgen laughed aloud. “ Is that your only trouble? 
I saw at once that there was something bothering you. 
You just go ahead and play the ‘ cavaliere servente.’ 
It will not hurt her ladyship to learn to know for once 
a man who is my friend. My friend, Joseph! Plein 
pouvoir! And, by God, I shall be glad, if you will cure 
her of her folly, and teach her that men are not to be 
judged according to the beauty of theireyelashes. Jeal- 
ous? Of something that I do not own? I only refuse 
to let anything be taken that is mine. You, for in- 
stance.” 

“ T’ll stay only a few days,” Otten replied. “I went 
through Cologne without stopping, and without seeing 
wife and child. But I wanted to get some air first. 
That benefits those at home afterward. One’s blood is 
more calm.” 

* Why not let them come here?” the manufacturer 
suggested. “Say, that is a good idea! We'll tele- 
graph to your wife, and she will be here with the next 
train.” 


202 THE ADVENTURER 


Frau Amely came, carrying a tray with a bottle and 
glasses. Her gray eyes rested upon Otten, as he re- 
plied: : 
“T thank you, but my wife cannot be spared from 
home on account of the child’s studies. And aside from 
that ”—he looked at the lady of the house—“ one rest- 
less guest is enough.” 

* You are placing a heavy burden on my back, in- 
deed,” Frau Amely said with a smile, bending over the 
table and placing the glasses. ‘ Where shall I find the 
art to repay you for your sacrifice? I will certainly at- 
tempt to employ all my talents, my wit, and my amiabil- 
ity, if that will seem enough.” 

“It is far too much, gracious madam. I shall be 
satisfied with a third, and I would select amiability.” 

The manufacturer looked at his wife with ill-con- 
cealed satisfaction. Frau Amely quietly played hostess 
and poured out the wine. Then she raised her glass, 
touched with it that of the guest, and quoted the old 
greeting: “ Griiss Gott, tritt ein, bring Gliick heirein! 
—God greet you, enter, and let happiness enter with 
you.” 

“That is selfishness,” the manufacturer insisted. 
* There ought to be something in it for him, too. My 
friendship? You have that as it is, but let us drink 
to it at any rate.” 

“Perhaps there will be a little remnant left for me, 
Herr Doktor. I shall try hard.” 

“So easily satisfied, gracious madam? That is a 
sign of approaching storm.” 

* Why, you men don’t even guess how easily we 
women can be satisfied in friendship.” 

He caught the double meaning in her words and 


THE ADVENTURER 203 


bowed. Shortly after, the servant called them to din- 
ner, and Otten led the lady of the house to the table. 
It wasamerry meal. Liittgen would not let Otten stop 
telling, in his humorous way, of his concert tours. 
From time to time the lady of the house filled the 
champagne glasses, and Otten enjoyed her graceful 
movements. ‘“‘ Too bad, that you are not a boy, and 
that I am not Jupiter. The position of Ganymede 
would be yours.” 

** Rather let us remain on earth. Her beauties are 
not yet known sufficiently, anyway,” she replied. 

Liittgen’s face was flushed. ‘“ Really,” he assented, 
“life in the country has charms, if one enjoys them 
in good company. But our friend is spoiled. The 
daughters of Albion and the semi-Asiatic Russian 
ladies have scattered too much incense at his feet. He 
must have men about him, sturdy, Rhenish men, so he 
will not be spoiled. There now! I have it! This 
day must have a festive ending. Please excuse me for 
two minutes.” 

Silence reigned between the two remaining at the 
table. Then Frau Amely said, folding her hands be- 
hind her head: “ Now he is telephoning to his friends 
in Cologne. That is meant for me. By parading here 
a man like you, he hopes to exclude me as a factor.” 

“ Gracious madam, you have no reason to grow bit- 
ter. One can’t help liking that man as he is.” 

* As a friend, certainly. But as his wife——? ” 

Otten was silent. He compared the lithe woman’s 
figure with the bulky figure of the man, her unlimited 
wit and spirit with his stolid persistence. ‘“ That 
seems largely placed within your hand,” he finally said. 

“How simple that sounds. One sacrifices the best 


204 THE ADVENTURER 


years of life, and can step aside again. To become a 
governess or something of the sort. At all events, to 
live from hand to mouth. Do you think that my il- 
lusions don’t suffice for that? I need the setting which 
I have here just as every sensible person needs it. 
Or can you imagine the woman sitting before you, 
wearing a threadbare old house-dress, eating beef and 
beans? No, I do not deceive myself. And Herr Dok- 
tor Joseph Otten would never have had an eye for me.” 

* Have I that fe 

“With what pleasure have I looked forward to this 
evening. At last a being that would make up for the 
everyday dozen. With whom a person could fly un- 
seen into another world, to laugh at this obtuse crowd. 
And now these philistines are coming with their ridicu- 
lous mannerisms of men of the world. What do they 
know of our world Bi 

“Do you really suffer among these people? ” 

Silently Frau Amely looked at the ceiling. Then she 
said suddenly : 

“Have you thought of me often? I don’t want a 
compliment from you.” 

* Very often, gracious madam.” 

“Of the gracious madam, or of me? ” 

“That I decline to answer.” 

“ee Why? 9° 

“It is not my custom to speak of things that have 
not become deeds. And, much less—when they have.” 

Her wide-open eyes were still looking at the ceiling. 
* Just one thing. The question would be absurd, if 
others than we would ask it directly. We do it in our 
world. Have you ever—kissed me—in thought? ” 

“ The woman I kiss belongs to me.” 








THE ADVENTURER 205 


“ Ah ** She leaned forward. ‘“ There, one be- 
ing speaks my language.” 

*“* Beg pardon, mine.” 

“Oh, don’t build up old border-line palisades. It 
does not suit you. What you may do, that may I 
also.” 

He closed his eyes. Then he grasped his glass and 
drank its contents. “ Play, but pretty.” 

She arose and filled his glass. He felt her lips. 
* Silence!” she whispered. ‘“ So that you may know to 
whom you belong.” 

Unwittingly his hand had grasped at her shoulder. 
Now he dropped it. With flashing eyes he looked at 
her: “ Take care!” 

“No!” she said, and they both felt and heard their 
hearts beating violently. 

Then she sat in her chair, her feet crossed as before. 
Only they were different themselves. As if a curtain 
of fog had been torn asunder between them, and as 
if they had not really seen each other until now, they 
looked at each other. 

** T will be your friend, Amely.” 

* Don’t be too strict ? 

“TI must lead. Only that way! There are three 
in the carriage.” 

The manufacturer’s head appeared at the door. 
“They are coming,” he called out. ‘ Only Terbroich I 
have not reached yet. He is at some church meeting. 
I have to call him up again, and will be back in a 
minute.” And he was gone again. 

Joseph Otten smilingly raised his glass: “ Agreed? ” 

He drank, and she laid her hand on his arm. “ Will 
you be satisfied? ” 








206 THE ADVENTURER 


She only nodded, took the glass from his hand, and 
drank it to the last drop. Silently she handed it back 
to him. For a few seconds he retained her fin- 
gers in his hand. “That was a real brotherhood 
drink hes 

With the evening train the guests arrived. A half 
a dozen manufacturers from Cologne. Escaped from 
the confines of their offices, they brought with them a 
spirit of hilarity that made the hall resound with their 
powerful voices. 

“ A merry evening, all among ourselves,” Terbroich 
called out, winking his eyes. ‘‘ We’ll make Joseph con- 
fess, for everybody’s benefit.” 

Frau Amely remained only for the meal. Her 
glances, filled with sarcasm, traveled about the table. 
Otten sat next to her. “ What amuses you? ” 

“'That they want to make you confess, my dear 
friend. I can see you getting up and recounting ina 
voluminous speech your conquests and your great 
deeds to these puny fellows. Don’t you do it. You 
would only waste your breath on seven numskulls. 
But if you lie to them, as if you were in reality just as 
they are, and pretend that you only make yourself 
appear different at times from mere love of adventure— 
oh, they will see in you a god and will applaud you as a 
true Cologner.” 

“Now, the meal is over. You had better retire now, 
gracious madam, or else I will be too self-conscious to 
—tell stories.” 

She turned her head toward him and looked at him. 
Then she arose to go. 

Liittgen immediately disappeared in the kitchen, to 
prepare the May-wine in person. The gentlemen went 





THE ADVENTURER 207 


to the veranda, and lit their cigars. Otten escorted 
the lady of the house to the foot of the stairs. 

“* Good-night,” she said and waited. 

He shook his head and drew her close to him in his 
arm, as one does with a child. For a second his hand 
rested upon her heart. But he did not kiss her. 

“ Bring that eager little heart to rest,” he said, and 
she flitted up the stairs. 

Not until he returned to the other guests did he 
feel how the blood was rushing through his veins. He 
drew the mild spring air with full breaths into his 
lungs, and, while his heart beat violently, he looked 
into the distance with a faint smile. 


CHAPTER XII 


Day was breaking when the guests left the villa at 
Godesberg, to board the early train for Cologne. And 
the glorious sun sent golden rays through the window- 
curtains when Otten awoke. His head was clear. The 
session of the night before had not affected him. The 
events of the previous day stood clearly before 
him. 

“She is experienced in this game,” he thought of 
Frau Amely. “First she contrived the little letter 
writing secret, and at the same time tied my hands. 
And, as was to be expected, the little secret led to a 
bigger one. Women are the born representatives of 
the snow-ball system. A mere nothing in their hands 
grows to an avalanche. And through our very chivalry 
we, also, become guilty. Now I’ll wash the sleep out of 
my eyes, and take the reins. Get up, Joseph!” 

On the terrace he was greeted with banter. Frau 
Amely was sitting at the breakfast-table in an airy 
batiste matinée. “‘ We are here in the country, Herr 
Doktor, where country customs prevail. And, besides, 
I consider you as belonging to the family. Will you 
have tea? ” 

“T’d advise you to have a little brandy first,” Liitt- 
gen suggested, rubbing his forehead. “ My grand- 
mother used to say: The dog that has bitten you during 
the night, ought to bite you again the first thing in 
the morning.” 

208 


THE ADVENTURER 209 


“Did your grandmother drink, too? *” Frau Amely 
said quietly. 

“Oh, excuse me. That is only a saying.” 

Otten took a glass of tea. “A fellow can only be 
bitten if he has really drank. But that was only a shy 
sort of sipping last night.” 

“Then shyness does not agree with my constitution.” 

“On the contrary, your nature is so sensitive that 
it rebels at the slightest offense against the esthetic.” 

** Oh, my sensitive constitution,” Liittgen complained 
and smote his broad and solid chest. 

Frau Amely looked searchingly through drooping 
eyelashes from one to the other. “I'll suggest a com- 
promise,” she said, stretching herself. “ We’ll take the 
sailboat, cross the Rhine to Nonnenwerth, afterwards 
land at Konigswinter, and climb up to the Dragon’s 
Rock. Whoever is in need of fresh air will get his 
share, and whoever would like to reawaken old dreams 
and fairy-tales of the Rhine, ought to find opportunity 
for that. I ask for a vote.” 

* Accepted with pleasure,” Otten called out, and she 
nodded to him. 

“The sail on the Rhine, I grant, will be splendid,” 
said the master of the house. ‘“ Also the landing at 
K6nigswinter. But the climb ? We could ride or 
drive up.” 

“You romantic soul,” Otten laughed. 

“Well, let us compromise the compromise. When 
you have done justice to your romantic feelings, you 
call for me at K6nigswinter. Ill have time there to 
plan the programme for the evening in the shade of the 
arbor. For the heat with which this May has set in 
must be combated.” 





210 THE ADVENTURER 


“T’ll be ready in a quarter of an hour,” Frau 
Amely decided, arose, and extended her hand to Otten. 

*T should like to take you along, just as you are,” 
he said. ‘ Then the boatmen on the river would tell the 
shores that we had caught a mermaid.” 

* But you are still on land, Herr Doktor,” she called 
out, already in the doorway. ‘“ Only, in the water one 
does not see the fish-tail.” 

He looked at her slender feet and the springy ankle. 
“Really, Liittgen, this May is bewitched. It is hot 
enough for July.” 

** And I carry a little stove in my head to boot. It’s 
a good thing, that I am not ‘ cavaliere servente.’ ” 

A quarter of an hour later they met on the terrace. 
Frau Amely, in a sailor-suit, the cap fastened in her 
hair; Otten in a light summer-suit and Calabreser hat. 
Only Liittgen appeared without a change of dress. 

* You did not change your suit?” the lady of the 
house asked in surprise. 

** Hard luck!” the manufacturer exclaimed. ‘“ That 
is, it may be good luck, too. It is on account of a big 
transaction. The factory just called me up. I have 
to go there at once.” 

** Oh——_”’ Otten said regretfully; “then there will 
be no sail.” 

“ Can’t you put off going until evening? ” she asked 
quickly. 

“Impossible. It is a big English contract, and our 
London representative can’t handle the matter alone.” 

* In the evening, the Herr Doktor could go with you 
to Cologne.” It sounded so matter-of-course that Ot- 
ten looked up in surprise. 

“Of course, I'll go along, even if you go at once,” he 


THE ADVENTURER 211 


said quickly. “If I can arrange it, and it is agree- 
able to the honored lady of the house, I can return 
with you to-morrow or the next day.” 

“ Fiddlesticks,” the manufacturer blurted out. 
* Surely we are not babies. You just go on with your 
excursion, and within a couple of days I’ll rejoin the 
party.” 

“Tf Herr Doktor Otten is satisfied with being exiled 
that way? You are disposing of him without asking 
him.” 

“ Tf I let go of him now, I won’t see him again in years 
to come. It is settled, Joseph. You stay here. Out 
here in this seclusion nobody bothers about anybody 
else. And I will deliver all your messages to your 
wife. I must go: You will have to take out the boat 
yourselves. Johann has gone ahead to the depot with 
my grip, and will get my ticket. So long, then. If 
that business matter with our British cousins is brought 
to a successful conclusion, we will have a little celebra- 
tion worthy of the name.” He gave his hand to 
his wife, and shook Otten’s hand like a pump- 
handle. 

* Jupp, if you could only see your own face! Adieu. 
Auf Wiedersehen!” ° He pushed his hat back jauntily 
and walked with heavy strides through the garden gate. 
His powerful frame disappeared at the next bend of the 
road. 

“Come,” Frau Amely said, and ran ahead of the 
guest to the shore of the Rhine. Otten followed her 
slowly. When he arrived there, she had cast off the 
fastening of the boat and stood in the vessel, with 
the sailing-line in her hand. Without saying a word, 
Otten stepped in, took the sailing-line from her hand, 


212 THE ADVENTURER 


and let her take the tiller. The boat slid easily through 
the whispering waves. A charming landscape sur- 
rounded the river, its fresh, young green, dotted with 
the white bloom of the cherry-trees and the delicate 
pink of the apple-blossoms. Near and far not a sound 
to be heard but the murmuring of the water, as the 
sharp bow of the tiny craft plowed through its sur- 
face. A sharp bend in the river brought Nonnenwerth, 
a pretty, tree-clad isle in the midst of the green water, 
into view. 

“© Say ” The sound came softly from the steers- 
man’s seat. 

Otten fastened the sailing-line in a ring. Only a soft 
breeze was blowing. Then he turned to his com- 
panion. 

“ Beg pardon? ” 

* Have I suddenly grown so detestable? ” 

** Will you permit me to ask why you told your hus- 
band an untruth? ” 

*T did not do that.” 

“Indirectly. When, by telling him to take me along 
to Cologne, you caused him to think you did not care 
for my presence here.” 

* Well, do I, really? ” 

** A jest does not dispose of my question.” 

“Very well, then. Did I commit such an awful 
crime? Or should I take especial care to make it known 
to him, that I looked forward with joy to the time 
when you and I would be alone? He certainly would 
have taken you with him, and I would have had to listen 
to Johann and the cook telling the gossip of Godesberg, 
instead of hearing a voice from my own world.” 

“Frau Amely, we enter deeper and deeper into 





THE ADVENTURER 213 


secrecy, and without there being any reason whatsoever 
for it.” 

“Don’t philosophize, and don’t moralize. The boat 
is too light, the Rhine too green, the sky too blue, and 
the sun—oh, this glorious sun! I cannot get enough 
of it. I should like to bathe in its rays! And it is no 
different with you.” 

They had circled about Nonnenwerth, and the boat, 
its sails filled with a freshening breeze, slid down-stream, 
pointing its bow toward Kénigswinter. Amely fastened 
the tiller, stepped over the seat, and sat beside him. 
Her shoulder snuggled up against his, until she had 
found a restful position. With her hands in her lap, 
she remained quiet and looked at the shore. 

A slight odor of tar was exhaled by the water, but 
it was not strong enough to spoil the delicate odor of 
lilacs. Otten turned his head and slowly looked down 
her figure. Not a line escaped him. From the fine 
nervous face to the feet, playfully crossed, appearing 
below the hem of her short dress. 

“Nymph!” he said. ‘The mermaids must be as 
graceful. Too bad that you are so clever.” 

“No, no. In this solitude there is neither clever- 
ness nor simplicity 4 

Leaning against his shoulder, she looked at him 
with her quiet gray eyes. But her lashes trembled... . 

“A pirate’s right,” he said, caught her by the chin, 
and kissed her. 

She raised her arms, wound them around his neck, and 
remained, leaning against his breast with closed eyes. 
He felt the light weight of her body, and it was as 
if the same blood was running through them both. 
With his fingertips he stroked her pale cheeks. 





214 THE ADVENTURER 


** My dear friend q : 

“ Oh—that you have come! If you had not, I would 
have gone to you.” 

* So untamed? ” 

“ Yes.” 

* You will give me much to do.” 

“Battle keeps young! Never to grow old! Not 
even in angels’ wedlock! ” 

** Oh, goodness! ” 

* Pooh! Verdigris, mildew, and moths. And to 
make up for it, an embroidered blessing above the bed. 
In the morning: How—have—you—slept—my—dear 
—Jo—seph? ” 

* You — ought — to — take—your—drops—my— 
dear.” 

* How—at—ten—tive—Dar—ling.” 

Suddenly she grasped his head, and drew it down 
to press her lips against his. ‘“ These are my drops,” 
she murmured. 

“ Attention—KGnigswinter.” 

She leaped up from her seat like a young girl, 
shouted “ Hurrah!” and waved her cap. And Otten 
stood beside her, with his arm about her waist, waving 
his Calabreser cap, and shouting with her. People of 
steel and nerves. 

They made the boat fast, and, after a brief rest, they 
started up-hill through the vineyards, that forest of 
ruins called the Dragon’s Rock, their goal. They 
walked on with such rapid strides, that conversation 
was almost suspended, one exclamation often serving 
in place of a sentence. Their bodies would straighten 
up, their hands slip apart, and with shining eyes they 
sped on. On top of the mountain they found several 





THE ADVENTURER 215 


parties of sight-seers. The white-bearded bard of the 
Dragon’s Rock sat on one of the tables, picked at the 
strings of his guitar, and sang with a tremulous voice 
the warnings of the Rhine: “ My son, my son, go not 
to the Rhine, my son, I advise thee well 

From a lofty vantage point, Otten and Frau Amely 
looked about. There all lay at their feet, the cities 
and villages of names old and renowned, blessed by the 
lore of the people, or by the poetry of singers and 
bards glad of the Rhine, and glad of its wine; blessed 
names, that are spoken with a feeling of awe. ‘The sil- 
very ribbon of the Rhine shone at their feet, with the 
islands in the distance. And in the north, far away, 
their sharp contours plainly visible with the sky as back- 
ground, arose, like three fingers raised in solemn oath, 
the spires of the Cathedral of Cologne. 

Otten’s glances lingered long upon these. ‘“ Co- 
logne——” he said. 

Frau Amely’s eyes followed his. ‘“ Its ban does not 
reach this far. Yonder is darkness. Here is lib- 
erty.” 

But even when they sat at the dinner-table, they still 
saw those fingers raised in the distance. 

“1 know a better place for us, my friend. A place 
which will echo our thoughts. So silent and lost to the 
world.” 

“The monastery of Heisterbach.” 

* Yes, the monastery of Heisterbach. You know the 
legend of the Heisterbachian monk, to whom a thou- 
sand years were as but one day. I, too, would like for 
once to enjoy a thousand years in one single day.” 

The whispering forest surrounded them. A scarcely 
perceptible breeze played with the tender young green 





216 THE ADVENTURER 


leaves. And it went through the solitude like a winged 
sigh. 

Frau Amely placed her hand on Otten’s arm. “I 
wish,” she said, “that I could be afraid, and claim 
your protection. But it is too nice for that.” 

“Then let us act in accordance with the situation. 
Let us enjoy it.” 

** Oh,—I have been doing that all the while.” 

“Somewhere in this neighborhood young Siegfried 
played armorer in making the sword with which he killed 
the Lindwurm on the Dragon’s Rock.” 

* And it seems to me as if another Siegfried was 
walking through the forest here, to continue his work 
of salvation.” 

* Young Siegfried? ” 

* Siegfried cannot grow old. A thousand years are 
to him as a day.” 

** And when that day is passed? ” 

“We are richer in beauty that raises us above our 
contemporaries. High above them. For there are not 
many wandering upon earth, whose brains can grasp 
the new revelation: To live a thousand years as one day. 
And those few are grasping at eternity.” 

“ Thus, I will be the first to borrow something from 
eternity ?. 

She permitted it. ‘ And I want to be indebted to the 
same creditor.” And she returned his kiss. 

“You are like a mischievous boy.” 

“TI don’t know what to do with my strength. And 
we live at the expense of eternity.” 

“We! We!” 

“ Yes, we, Joseph! One must sink with the other, 
and rise dg 








THE ADVENTURER 217 


“Sink!” he laughed and bent over her. 

“T will—rise——” 

The wind ceased. The rays of the sun gilded the 
ground. Near the cloister-ruin they sat down to rest 
in a tiny wooded valley. About them the birds of the 
forest were singing and chirping in their own kingdom, 
and took no cognisance of the human strangers in their 
midst. Flowers of spring, surrounded by moss, were 
bathed in sunshine. Warm waves of air kissed among 
the treetops. 

** How sweet you are... . Now your blood flows 
quietly. And yet within this delicate frame it can 
rush and swirl and break in a very deluge.” 

* Because I want happiness.” : 

* We all want that. To make another happy, means 
happiness for oneself. Try that.” 

* With you.” 

“When we create an especial happiness for our- 
selves, we must first satisfy all proper claims against 
us. If we don’t do that, we are not exceptional na- 
tures, but merely runaways. Do you understand what 
I mean? ” 

She sat up straight, pulled up her knees, put her 
arms around them, and looked straight ahead into the 
sunny forest. Her brows were drawn together. 

* Will my friend not answer? ” 

* Oh, yes, she will, Especially inasmuch as this form 
of address displeases her, since it would also be ‘ my 
friend,’ if in my stead Karl Liittgen were sitting 
here.” 

* That it would be, and it would be the truth.” 

* You have a peculiar way of proving your logic.” 

“Frau Amely,” he said, “no leaping to and fro, 


218 THE ADVENTURER 


Even if I should take you in my arms and close these 
angry lips in the peculiar style of my logic, you would 
be in better care than in the care of your own thoughts. 
You have recognized that to such an extent that these 
lips curled up in anger.” 

* Male conceit.” 

“No,” he continued, “do not employ this tone of 
superiority, which poorly masks your annoyance with 
me. What do you really think? Do you believe that 
I, Joseph Otten, would lie here, looking longingly at 
the sky of spring, while spring itself sits beside me, 
scarce an arm’s length away? That I would not with 
one grasp draw this personification of spring to me, 
and not let go of it, until its secret of life had become 
mine? Do you think, that I have no eyes in my head, to 
see this capricious human wonder? And no wild heart- 
beat in my breast that longs to beat itself into weari- 
ness? I am doing to-day what I have never done be- 
fore. I respect the man who stands behind. Because 
he is my friend, certainly. But much more, because he 
is a poor human being, who, from the beginning, saw 
himself cheated in his hopes. Therefore I could not 
deprive him of hopes of you. But if I kissed you, as I 
would like to, I would have to—drop him. And that 
he has not deserved. One does not steal the pennies 
of a beggar.” 

Frau Amely sat immovable and looked into the forest. 
Then she said slowly: “ And yet—it would depend upon 
ascertaining who is the one most in need.” 

** He is. Undoubtedly.” 

* Listen You claim he suffers through me, be- 
cause I make no secret of it, that I take none but the 
most necessary notice of him. I make no effort to ap- 





THE ADVENTURER 219 


proach him. What is more, I wish no advances on his 
part. But I claim I suffer through him! I married 
him because he was a rich merchant. I am much too 
proud to deny the motive. I desired to reach the care- 
free height to which I am entitled. But that is the only 
thing for which I could be reproached. I did not want 
to wait any longer, and I made this mistake in my 
haste. What did I gain by it? Let us not speak of it. 
You know him. But I assure you, that at first I did 
what was within my power to remodel his spirit and his 
hobbies, to shape them according to my own, to which I 
was entitled, for, without self-conceit, I am the stronger 
individuality of us two. One of us had to give in. He 
regretted he was too old to change. And I regretted 
I was too young. Love could have bridged the matter 
over. But it had never existed. No, no, not even on 
his side. It was a matter of Rhenish vainglory with 
him. The joy of having something different from the 
others. Something that would make them open their 
eyes in wonderment. That would make them say: 
‘Yes, Liittgen—that is a fellow. He can afford it. 
A great fellow!’ I should have been a different 
creature, not a woman who considers female slavery a 
ridiculous farce; not a woman who will not allow her 
soul to be killed for the sake of a dozen rings and 
necklaces. Killed by a merchant, who considers the 
soul a luxury, and sees in it a disturbance of his materi- 
alism. But to let someone play with me—only play— 
I demand a partner who is my equal. If that is not the 
case, we are not among our own, and shame remains and 
humiliation begins. He was only able to humiliate me. 
He, he! I could never humiliate him! And if I finally 
made myself free, as free as I am to-day, I have only 


220 THE ADVENTURER 


taken back my old right, my inalienable right of being 
human.” 

“Ts all that—true? ” Otten asked, stretching the 
words. 

As a flash, she turned to him. “ If it were not, would 
I be able to—voice such feelings—before—a _ third 
party?” 

“ She frames her words according to the mood of a 
moment,” Otten thought. Aloud he said: “ It requires 
a great loneliness, or a great—hatred.” 

* Does he not hate me? ” 

“Tt is true,” Otten thought. “He hates her no 
less. There is a fire somewhere, and somewhere else 
there is a reflection of it.” 

She read his thoughts. ‘“ I know that he goes about 
and tries to create a prejudice against me in people 
with whom I might otherwise get into closer sympathy. 
He probably has made no exception in your case. Now 
tell me: who gives tangible form to hatred? Who is the 
suffering party? Who is in need of one person’s 
friendship exclusively for himself, in order to obtain 
new vigor, to gain something new, to make life worth 
living? You know me sufficiently by this time to judge . 
yourself. Am I so repulsive? ” 

* You are a witch.” 

“Please be serious. You are much too chivalrous 
not to decide which side is right. And you will stand 
by the side of justice. There your friendship will be 
undivided.” 

** And yet you were offended, when I addressed you 
as friend.” 

“Not then. For then the word will have the scale 
of the sounds and I only seek the note.” 


THE ADVENTURER 221 


** Poor, dear friend,” he said tenderly. 

*“ No—rich!” . . . She placed her hands over his 
eyes and pressed her lips upon his mouth. And there 
was magic in the forest, the magic of centuries gone by, 
when the monk of Heisterbach walked through the 
woods, meditating to discover the meaning of the word, 
a thousand years as one day... . 

Hand in hand they wandered silently through the 
forest road, and the wonder of the forest remained be- 
hind them. Frau Amely’s eyes were shining strangely, 
and her head was raised high. Otten’s daring face re- 
flected the sunshine of spring which he carried with 
him from the forest. It was growing dusk as they 
reached K6énigswinter. They unfastened the boat and 
crossed the Rhine towards Godesberg. But they did 
not care to land. The silence upon the water became 
more and more intense, and the silence upon the shores 
seemed to increase likewise. The moon rose above the 
Dragon’s Rock, and its pale light gave a mystic sheen 
to sky, river, and shore. The trail of the small craft 
was like liquid silver. When they dipped their hands 
into the water, where they quickly met, a silver coating 
remained for a time. And when they bent over, one 
to the other, they saw the silvery reflex in the depths 
of each other’s eyes. Presently Frau Amely began to 
shiver beneath the chilly evening air. Then he turned 
the rudder, dropped the sails, and they landed at the 
edge of the villa’s park. 

She leaped from the boat, stood for a moment, as if 
she were meditating, then she stretched herself with 
a motion as if she wished to embrace the sky. 
“ Ah *? she said, “ beautiful !* And her voice 
seemed to vibrate strangely. 








222 THE ADVENTURER 


“Come into the house. The chilly evening is not 
good for you.” 

“Not for either of us.” They walked through the 
park and the garden to the terrace. The hall was lit 
up. The servant came and asked for instructions. 

* We have supped. It is well. No letters? ” 

“ A telegram, gracious madam.” 

She took the telegram, waited until the servant had 
left, opened it, read, and extended it to Otten. Her 
big gray eyes hung on his features. He let his hand 
with the paper sink. ‘“ What now? ” 

“What now?” she repeated. “The text says 
plainly enough: ‘ Will remain a few days longer. Am 
only taking a run across the Channel and back again. 
The business demands it. Await me at Godesberg. 
Liittgen.’—Hence, we will await him.” 

“That is impossible.” 

*“ Are you afraid? ” 

“Yes, I fear—myself.” 

“Of course, we carry the responsibility, if we fail 
to act our parts well.” She raised her eyebrows and 
walked past him. “ How warm it is here——” And 
she opened wide the door leading to the terrace and 
leaned against the carved post. This has been a short 
day.” 

** There are days one does not measure with the yard- 
stick, but with fathoms and sinker.” 

“ Have you found bottom so soon? If I am so shal- 
low, it really is not worth while, and you are right.” 

He looked at her and smiled. And as he smiled, and 
while he smiled, he saw how beautiful she was. ‘ Your 
melancholy is a snare, and your anger another. Now 
you will also appeal to my chivalry.” 


THE ADVENTURER 223 


* T don’t appeal.” 

He walked through the room and took a mandolin 
from the piano. Softly his fingers touched the chords. 
He listened, then tuned the instrument. There was no 
other sound. 

“ T would like to hear a voice, even if it were my own.” 

From the door there came no answer. 

** So that we may know that we are still alive.” 

She did not stir. 

He drew a chair and sat down upon it astride, with 
his arm resting upon the back of the chair: “ It was 
in Naples. I sat at the seashore, in front of a hotel of 
the Via Partenope. My heart was beating and asking 
a thousand questions a man cannot answer alone. 
Then a young woman came and sang a little song dy 

He played a prelude and sang softly and pleadingly: 





“Tre volte vot ho visto sono perdutto, 

E mille volte a voi ho pensato. 

Tre volte vostra mano ho stretto. 

E mille volte la mia ho vasato. ... 
Signora dite: Si, 
A voi non costa niente, 
Una occhiata solamente 
Capisco io che voi dire.” 


Step by step she had come into the room and ap- 
proached him. Now she leaned against the chair. 
** What is the meaning of the little song? ” 

“What does the singer say? He says and com- 
plains: Thrice I have seen you and am lost, and a thou- 
sand times I have thought of you. Thrice I have 
pressed your hand, and a thousand times blessed my 


224 THE ADVENTURER 


own. Signora, do say yes! It costs you nothing. One 
look only—and I understand what it shall say.” 

Through the open door were wafted the evening 
odors of the German spring. 

* T’d love to learn Italian from you,” she said softly. 
“Italy is the only home for such as we.” 

He struck the chords and they gave forth silvery 
sounds: “ Signora, dite: Si.” 

She took his head between her hands. ‘“ Don’t go 
away.” 

He repeated the refrain with closed eyes and a happy 
smile about his mouth. 

His’ soul was floating at the shores of the blue 
Mediterranean, and dreams were reawakened. 

“ Don’t go away ss 

He shook his head laughingly, sang and played. In 
the distance the murmur of the Rhine was lost, from 
the garden the odors of the flowers drifted in, and the 
night was soft like the veiled glance of woman. 

“Now we are all alone in the world,” said Frau 
Amely.... 





CHAPTER XIII 


Four days later Liittgen returned to Godesberg. 
He expressed his joy over the successful conclusion of 
his business-trip in a rather loud manner. ‘“ Well, we 
have caught the Englishman. It was a hard piece 
of work. It cost half a day’s session at the confer- 
ence-table, like two cool players matching each other 
move for move. But, finally, I had my way. Business 
is business.” 

The woman and the guest did not show intense in- 
terest in his story of success. When, in the afternoon, 
Otten declined an invitation to a sail on the Rhine for 
the three, Liittgen noticed his reserve. His merriment 
gave way to a questioning surprise. Finally they 
parted with assumed politeness. 

After a sleepless night, followed by a short, restless 
slumber in the morning, the manufacturer came to the 
veranda and found the breakfast-table deserted. The 
napkins, crumpled and carelessly thrown upon it, told 
him that Frau Amely and Otten had not waited for him. 
He ordered the servant to bring the tea, and did not ask 
about them. 

The tea grew cold. He still sat thoughtfully bent 
forward and tried to resume the thread of his thoughts, 
where he had dropped it upon falling asleep. His 
wife’s figure he dismissed with a quiver about the 
corners of his mouth. There still remained his 
friend ! How much of an explanation between 
them was demanded: ? 

225 








226 THE ADVENTURER 


** None whatever,” flashed through his mind. “ How 
does this woman concern me? She has her ways, and I 
have mine: that has become a matter of course for 
years. Hence I would play a ridiculous part if I 
were to take up the matter now. Hitherto it has been 
a matter of admirers about whom I cared as little, or 
who were just as repulsive to me as she. That bal- 
anced the scales, and I lost nothing by it. But 
now % 

He took out his handkerchief and slowly wiped his 
forehead. 

“And now? Well, what now? Am I really losing 
anything? Joseph Otten might as well play with air, 
so little does this woman exist for me. She happens 
to be in my house, that is all. And he goes away 
within a few days, at any rate. Shall I, then, for the 
sake of mere air—she is no more than that to me— 
banish the friend out of my life, the friend, who will 
have forgotten the intermezzo within twenty-four hours 
of his departure? That would be simply adding to the 
joy of the victor—to her joy. 

“ Which he will have forgotten? And if he does not 
forget it so soon? 

“No fear!” And again there was the quiver about 
the corners of his mouth. “ She will teach him to for- 
get her quickly. She is not in favor of long-distance 
friendships, and soon Otten will have ceased to be a 
youth. That is decisive for her.” 

He almost felt a sort of pity. The pity of a newly 
sobered man for one who is still intoxicated. “I am 
lying on a sand bar, but, at least, I am safe. And 
there he is struggling, and swallowing salt water, where 
he expected to find treasures. Poor fellow, there are 





THE ADVENTURER 227 


no depths. There are only shallows. I would like 
to have spared you the disappointment! ” 

Mechanically he wiped his forehead. Then he smiled 
contemptuously. “Of course, I would have spared 
him that. An affair cannot insult me, that is so far 
removed from me as the capricious moods of this 
woman. Surely her lap-dog could not compel me to 
take part in an affair of honor. How ridiculous it 
would be if I, as a man, should expose myself for the 
sake of this woman, who has long ago ceased to be 
anything to me. On the contrary, that would be 
quixotism and—dishonor. Really, it would be that.— 
Only one thing—only—one——” 

His face was clouded. He stared at the table-cover 
where the sunshine lay. 

“Tf I remain silent, since I have lost nothing, I re- 
main who and what I am, and my honor rests within 
myself. Only if it goes beyond that, if I am to pay 
the bill the gracious madam has run up, if she, through 
her wiles, should win the friend away from me, if he 
should turn from me, as from something—unclean us 

His hand fell heavily upon the table. 

* Then ee 

He looked up, and he saw between the trees of the 
park Frau Amely’s white dress and Otten’s light suit. 
Hastily he drank his cold tea. “ How his laughter 
sounds,” he mumbled. “I will not be outdone.” 

He arose, and waved his hand towards them. Care- 
lessly they answered his greeting. 

“Have you been sailing so early, you restless 
ones? ” 

“We have been bathing and lying in the sunshine.” 

** And you let me sleep the while? ” 








228 THE ADVENTURER 


“JT did not know,” Otten said, “that you still in- 
dulged in such physical exercise.” 

* Well, well! Don’t make me out so lazy. Or have 
I assumed such Falstaffian dimensions? ” 

* What do you intend to do to-day? ” Frau Amely 
asked. ‘“ Can we include you in our arrangements, or 
do you prefer the siesta? ” 

“Tf you want me?” 

* Oh, please——” 

* That does not sound very encouraging. But I'll 
attribute it to the exertions of the bath. This is a 
dangerous river-bend, and it requires a good swimmer 
to remain within landing distance. By the way—how 
would it be if we should take dinner in Kénigswinter to- 
day to replace the one I had to deny myself on account 
of my trip? You can depend upon it, I will not be 
stingy.” 

* Does it have to be Kénigswinter? ” Otten said. 

“TI don’t insist upon it. But do you object to that 
charming little town? ” 

* No, not at all. Let us go there, then.” 

The weather was beautiful. The warm days and 
nights had coaxed forth the shyest blossoms, and the 
shores were almost concealed in the bloom of the fruit- 
trees. The trio in the boat had no eyes for the beauty 
of nature just then. Now and then a word was spoken. 
Finally even Liittgen became quiet. 

They dined at the shore of the Rhine, and the wine 
made them more lively. But the conversation was car- 
ried on almost solely by Otten and Frau Amely. And 
on their homeward trip it was no different. 

Liittgen went to his room immediately, to change his 
clothes and to avoid the evening chill. ‘ You prob- 


THE ADVENTURER | 229 


ably will be able to get along without me for ten 
minutes.” 

Otten and Frau Amely remained on the veranda and 
avoided looking at each other. 

* The whole thing was nasty,” the man finally said. 

She slowly turned her head towards him. ‘“ And in 
such an atmosphere I have been living for years. You 
notice it within a few days.” 

“Tt is not his fault. It is his nature that bars the 
way.” 

“And my nature? Shall it succumb without a 
struggle? Surely, if it is necessary that one be pushed 
to the background, it is not necessary that it should 
be the more valuable human being.” 

** Are you so sure——” 

“That he is not the more valuable one? Yes! Of 
that I am positive. And if you have not learned that 
yet, it is the result of the fact that his everyday man- 
nerisms, his deteriorating influence, have had too much 
power over me as it is. Joseph! Why did you not 
come sooner? At the time when the difference between 
him and me was still more apparent than it is to-day. 
At a time when you would have been able to decide in a 
minute. At a time when you would simply have lifted 
me up in your arms and carried me away out of all the 
degradation I have to suffer at the hands of this man, 
whose nature is his law. Shall I drink with him? Shall 
I joke with him? Shall I hang upon his neck when he 
grows clumsy and tender? Shall I do all that—even 
now? ” 

Otten breathed heavily. An anxious, oppressive 
silence followed. Then he spoke. 

“Tf all that you have told me to-day and during the 


230 THE ADVENTURER 


last few days about him and about yourself, if you 
can take an oath upon it—then you should not.” 

“TI swear it.” 

“Very well. You will find me at your side when I 
am needed. Besides—he must be aware of it even 
now.” 

“Tt will not matter to him, and he will not waste a 
word about it. There you have his character.” 

** That would place him beneath consideration. I be- 
lieve you.” 

From this day on, Liittgen ceased to accompany 
them in their walks and their sails. Only once he 
stopped his friend in the garden. It was but for a few 
minutes. 

“Things have not turned out exactly as I thought. 
Your union of souls goes far.” 

“Tf that is to be an accusation against your wife, 
it is a boomerang.” 

“That would be interesting to me. You may safely 
preach a sermon to me.” 

“T do not feel that it is called for. If you don’t 
feel yourself what you have missed and what you have 
left undone in her case, it would be useless for another 
to attempt to show you. A being so richly gifted, so 
full of possibilities for development under proper care. 
But one’s own education and desires must remain in 
_ keeping with that aim.” 

“In other words, I am a stupid brute.” 

* Possibly you are—to your own despite.” 

“God forbid that you may grow thus against your 
own self, through over-appreciation of educational pos- 
sibilities. There are feline natures that may be trained, 
but never educated. In every such case there comes a 


THE ADVENTURER 231 


day when they will show their fangs and claws, when 
their vicious instincts will break out.” 

** Please, let us drop the subject.” 

** With pleasure. Only I should feel sorry for the 
friend, who might have been spared the experience.” 

Otten told Frau Amely some of this conversation. 
She laid her hand on his arm and looked at him. And 
within him arose the contempt of the strong for the 
weakling. 

Liittgen noticed quickly how his friend withdrew 
from him. And he felt the contempt through it all. 
His hatred against the woman grew more and more 
intense. The guilt was hers. Hers alone. She had 
succeeded in winning the chivalrous support of the man 
through misrepresentations. Had won him for a bad 
cause. She had given him up, and had compelled his 
friend to give him up, contemptuously. And that 
could go no farther. 

He walked about, and his hatred was busily at work 
in his mind: “ What shall I do? What shall I do, to 
make up for this loss? I am as strongly attached 
to him as I abhor her. I punish myself in striking 
him. For she alone is responsible. She has cheated 
and deceived him even now, as well as lied to him. And 
now he feels that he must be chivalrous. Would I have 
acted differently in his place? No. Or—possibly no. 
But that is neither here nor there, for I am permitting 
him to burn his fingers, if he absolutely insists upon it. 
But—contempt—that is another matter. Contempt 
for me—— For Me! After all I have suffered with 
this woman, to be, through her doings, considered con- 
temptuously by the only person in the world to whom 
I am attached?” Multi-colored lights seemed to 


232 THE ADVENTURER 


dance before his eyes. “I must defend myself,” he 
muttered. “I must defend myself.” 

And from this hour on his hatred sought the means 
to be revenged. 

Wherever he happened to be, he seemed to feel the 
triumph of the woman. Everywhere he felt as if she 
said: “ Now I am taking your friend. Now I am tak- 
ing your last friend. Who is the richer of us two now, 
you beggar? ” 

It was maddening. Yet he must preserve his self- 
control. 

And he saw them on the shore of the Rhine. There 
they stood, hand in hand, laughing merrily, as if no 
one else existed in the wide world. His breathing was 
forced. He felt a pain in his chest. He longed to 
hear his own voice, but he could not speak. And, sud- 
denly, it loomed up before him—the picture he had been 
searching for. His chest heaved. And sounds came 
from his lips, which only he could understand. “I 
have it—I have it. I must take him away from her— 
take—him—away. Out of the center of her triumph! 
Because she has taken him away from me. My only 
friend.— And, therefore—I—will—take—him—from— 
her. Not on his own account! But on hers!” 

With a slow motion his hand passed over his eyes. 
The multi-colored lights were dancing no longer. 
He saw the clear day. And slowly he turned, and, with 
steady strides, he walked to the villa, where he locked 
himself in his room. 

“Tt is a long time since I have had weapons in my 
hands,” he said, looking at the polished barrels of a 
brace of pistols. ‘Not since my last drill as officer 
of the reserve among the cuirassiers of Deutz. And 


THE ADVENTURER 233 


that is so long ago it might never have been. Steady, 
my boy. It is not essential that one shall drop, but it 
is essential that he shall fall. I am the judgment of 
God. I must not forget that. That is the only sensi- 
ble way. As the affair has lasted so long, a few days 
more will not matter. I need some practice, for I must 
hit the mark. Not you, Jupp. Her!” 

When the sailboat swam on the Rhine, he walked into 
the park, put up the target, and began to shoot at it. 
His heavy hand trembled when he raised it for the first 
time. The first few bullets barked the tree against 
which his target rested. But he remained at his task. 
When the first bullet penetrated the edge of the target, 
a smile flashed over his red face. Now his bullets no 
longer missed. He had whole days to himself. And he 
utilized them. No one disturbed him. Nobody asked 
for him. And then came the hour when bullet after 
bullet struck the bull’s-eye. That was the happiest mo- 
ment of his life. 

The breeze had almost died out. The boat slowly 
crept towards the landing. Those it bore were glad 
that they did not have to land yet. Every evening they 
landed a little later than on the evening before. 

“You must not go yet,” Frau Amely said, and laid 
her head against his breast. ‘‘ You are only just now 
bound to me.” 

** Be sensible, Amely. We must not think as ‘ Chacun 
and Chacune.’? That is too cheap.” 

“Don’t let us think at all. Be still. Only let me 
kiss you. So—now I am comfortable.” 

The boat floated near the park. Suddenly Frau 
Amely started: “ Did you hear anything? ” 

* A shot.” 


234 THE ADVENTURER 
They both listened. The shots fell in regular suc- 


cession. 

“There is somebody practicing shooting at a tar- 
get,” Otten said, and Frau Amely leaned back in his 
arms. Their eyes kissed before their lips met. And 
while they reclined in the boat, their bodies close to- 
gether, forgetting the world, there on the shore the bul- 
lets were whistling in regular succession, truly aimed— 
the bullets meant for their hearts. 

“TI intend to go home to-morrow,” Otten told the 
master of the house in the evening. 

*T can’t permit that in such an off-hand manner.” 

* You must be joking. I have remained longer than 
I ought, and I realize it. So let it be to-morrow.” 

** And if I should ask you? You have not done me 
a favor for some time. I should like to see—your good 
will.” 

** Liittgen, I can’t.” 

** Well—a man’s wish is his heaven. Then you will 
leave to-morrow. But not before the evening train. I 
had promised you to give a feast, if that English busi- 
ness was carried through successfully. A feast the like 
of which we had not had before. For our most in- 
timate acquaintances only. Just as on the day of your 
arrival. You remember? The gentlemen have been in- 
vited for to-morrow, noon.” 

“You are disposing of me rather unceremoniously 
there, but es 

* Among friends a fellow can’t be so particular.” 

“ Well, if it pleases you 4 

“Without you my entire arrangement would be 
spoiled. During the last few days my head was still 
full of business cares, Well, life itself is a big job, 








THE ADVENTURER 235 


and it means cares. But now the calculations which 
I had to make are finished, and I can devote myself 
to you during the last hour. And I am as jolly as in 
my palmiest days.” 

“Then I will advise your wife of the change in the 
programme.” 

“There she is just coming to say good-night. 
Listen, our friend will stay to-morrow for a small stag 
dinner in our house. The invitations have been ac- 
cepted. A caterer in Bonn will furnish the dinner and 
send the chef with it, to prepare things. You have no 
objections, as by this we will keep Otten here until 
evening? ” 

* Ah she said in astonishment. “ That is a 
pleasant surprise.” 

* And, now, we'll all go to bed. Good-night, Otten. 
It will be a full day to-morrow.” 

They shook hands and went to their rooms. Some- 
where a nightingale was singing merrily. .. . 

The guests sat around the table in the hall. The 
linen blinds of the veranda had been lowered, to give 
protection from the flood of sunshine, and created an 
artificial dusk. The champagne glasses had been re- 
moved and Rhine-wine goblets brought, and then the 
champagne glasses had supplanted the goblets again. 
The gentlemen had stuck flowers into the button-holes 
of their claw-hammer coats. They were growing over- 
merry, and were drinking to the health of the lady of 
the house, who sat dreamily at the side of Otten, her 
flowing, low-cut gown exposing her dainty neck and 
shoulders. 

“Don’t ever forget me,” she said softly, and Otten 
pressed her hand in silent understanding. 


199 





236. THE ADVENTURER 


Liittgen drank hastily. His florid face showed a 
deeper red than usual, and he was so talkative that it 
attracted attention. 

“No wonder!” Terbroich said. ‘“ He can afford it. 
Gets rid of his entire old stock in one deal.” 

** Now it must be done,” Liittgen said to himself and 
arose. The servant, who had been gathering the fruit- 
dishes, discreetly withdrew at a motion from his 
master. 

“A festive speech! Silence! The master of the 
house has the floor.” 

* Yes—a festive speech,” Liittgen said, playing with 
his glass and straightening up his powerful frame. 
Now he had himself well in hand. His glances quietly 
wandered from one to the other. “ A festive speech. 
And, strange as it may seem, the master of the house 
has the floor. Our friend Terbroich, who is such a 
good business man, just remarked that I was very 
happy in having gotten rid of all my old stock at one 
deal. Well, he errs. There is some stock left.” 

He raised his glass and emptied it. There was no 
interjection of remarks. 

** Well, to-day I would like to complete the clearing 
out. What is left is shopworn, but there are cus- 
tomers for that, too, at times. I want to get rid of it, 
in order that it may not be stolen, and also that I may 
not be tempted to cheat somebody with it—and as 
either would be humiliating to a square business man— 
T’ll give it away. Who wants it? ” 

That was not a festive speech, and the man, whose 
threatening eyes now swept the circle of his guests, was 
not a merry carouser. There was a silence of painful 
expectancy among the audience. 


THE ADVENTURER 237 


“Who wants it?” Liittgen repeated. ‘ Nobody? 
Really, nobody? Not even you, Otten? ” 

* What do you mean? ” 

“IT mean that I am about to clear out my ware- 
house. To eject the remnants. Tocleanup. Do you 
understand that? ” 

* Sit down. The wine has made you dizzy.” 

* Then I am drunk. Possibly I have been—and not 
only to-day. But I give you my word: I would not give 
a red Groschen for your sober clearsightedness this mo- 
ment.” 

** Are you through? ” 

*T will be, in a minute. You have only to say that 
you will take it. Why do you hesitate? You two 
have agreed long ago.” 

“It is not true!” Frau Amely screamed. Pale as 
death, she sank back in her chair. 

“T beg your pardon. What is not true? That 
you love him more than your own life? ” 

“It is a lie!” In a scream of terror the answer 
came. A desperate denial full of fear: “ It is a lie.” 

And between these words Otten had found his equi- 
librium. Even more quickly than they had passed, the 
merry laughing days at Godesberg sank away amidst 
derisive laughter, and not even a ripple told of their 
disappearance. An adventure. Nothing more. And 
the worst one of them all. 

Pale, but every nerve firm as steel, Otten arose, moved 
his chair back, and stood offering his arm to the lady 
of the house. 

“May I offer you my arm, madam? Things are be- 
coming a little too wild for you down here.” 

And passively she placed her hand on his arm, and 


238 THE ADVENTURER 


allowed him to lead her out of the hall. At the foot of 
the staircase he released her with a bow. Not another 
word was exchanged. He waited until she had gone to 
her room, then he went to his. ‘“ Tell the gentlemen,” 
he said to the man servant, “ that I shall stay up here.” 

He waited a quarter of an hour. His thoughts were 
so little occupied with what had just transpired, that he 
was surprised. Then he heard steps in the corridor. 
There was a knock on his door. Terbroich and a 
young manufacturer entered. 

“Let us come to the point without much ado, gen- 
tlemen,” Otten said calmly. “I presume Herr Liittgen 
has entrusted you with a mission.” 

“To my regret, my dear Joseph,” Terbroich began 
pompously, “ you see in me his representative. You 
will not be angry with me, but under the circumstances 
I could not decline.” 

* Oh, please,” Otten warded him off, “ your com- 
mission? ” 

* Herr Liittgen demands satisfaction with a weapon. 
He will accept no alternative.” 

*T am willing.” 

“Tt is desired that the affair may be brought to a 
conclusion as quickly as possible.” 

* That coincides with my desire.” 

* Well, then, the day after to-morrow, at five-thirty, 
here in the park? That is the safest and most secluded 
place.” 

“Very well. The rest can probably be arranged 
through my second, whom I shall seek at once.” 

* Would you, perhaps, accept my services?” the 
young manufacturer asked politely. “I am entirely at 
your command,” 


THE ADVENTURER 239 


** You are very kind, and I accept with thanks. You 
will, then, grant me a few minutes more. Good-day, 
Terbroich; I should like to take the afternoon train for 
Cologne.” 

* Adieu, Otten. I had to execute this commission.” 

He nodded at Terbroich, and then remained in con- 
sultation with his second a quarter of an hour. Shortly 
afterwards Otten was at the railroad station, where he 
took a return-trip ticket for Cologne. When he, an- 
other fifteen minutes later, left the depot at Cologne, 
he had but one thought: to retain the mastery over his 
appearance! Not to give way to his feelings. Now 
Maria’s composure was the most important thing. 

He climbed up the stairs to his residence, forced a 
radiant smile, and rang the bell. Frau Maria opened 
the door herself. 

* Here I am!” Otten called out, and quickly drew 
her to his bosom. 

“Oh, you wanderer, you wanderer 

He held her head tightly against his breast, until he 
had mastered his emotions. 

“ Here I am, Maria 

“Will you stay now? Well, come in, and let me 
have a good look at you. Since I knew that you were 
at Godesberg, I have not gone out of the house, for fear 
that I should miss you. Was I not right? You have 
come, here you are. Thank God that it is you.” 

“Have you been worrying about me? ” he asked and 
stroked her hair. Now they sat in the little room, and 
she caught his hands and held them tightly. 

** Let me look at you. Don’t you feel well? Your 
eyes seem so restless.” 

“This intolerable heat. The sudden change from 


1 





9 





240 THE ADVENTURER 


the Russian climate was rather hard. Will you give 
me a glass of water? ” 

“Wait. Ill make some lemonade in a moment. That 
is the most cooling drink.” 

She went a few steps, then turned and, suddenly, em: 
braced him tenderly. “My Joseph!” Then she 
quickly left the room. 

“My God,” Otten thought; “this is unbearable. 
Anything but this unchanging goodness. I am sitting 
here like a burglar within my own house.” 

She reappeared in the door, gay and excited as a 
young girl. He took the glass from her hand, and 
emptied it at one draught. ‘“ Why is it that a fellow 
will never realize that it is most comfortable at 
home——?” 

* Will you stay, Joseph? ” 

** Well, now comes the confession. I'll have to take 
another run over to-morrow. Liittgen insists upon it. 
There is to be a night-festival for the finish. And at 
a finale there must be swan-songs. Hence I wanted to 
look among my old notes, and to make a proper selec- 
tion.” 

** But I could have done that for you.” 

“JT had a longing.” And he felt that he spoke the 
truth. “ Besides, this was a day off, and I wanted that 
to belong to you. To you and Carmen. Is she not at 
home? ” 

‘She is sitting in her room, studying ambitiously. 
I only wanted you for myself the first few minutes. 
Don’t be surprised, I am an egotistical woman #4 

Once more she quickly pressed her face against his. 
* Now, we can go to her.” 

Carmen was sitting in her little gable-room, industri- 





THE ADVENTURER 241 


ously studying Latin, with a serious expression on her 
handsome face. When the door opened, she did not 
turn. She was reading in a subdued, monotonous voice 
the rules of the grammar. Smilingly Frau Maria 
looked at her child, and a deep flush passed over Ot- 
ten’s face. “Carmen,” he said very softly, but his 
voice trembled in, spite of himself. 

* Father! ” 

Grammar and vocabulary were thrown into the cor- 
ner, and the tall slender girl hung upon his neck. 

* Carmen, my girl—my big, big girl——~” 

“Oh, father! Where have you been keeping your- 
self? I want to go on a trip with you over Whit- 
sunday!” 

He kissed her like a little child. Kissed her again 
and again, as if he could not get his fill. Had she grown 
so tall over night? Had he not loved her so tenderly 
before? ‘Come what will,” he thought, “ she will live 
after me. And I have not lived for nothing.” 

*‘ Children, get ready. Let us go out into the fresh 
air. Like a good, model citizen with wife and child. 
We'll eat at the Flora, and when we return, we’ll have 
an hour of music and song, that shall make Spring her- 
self sit up and listen.” 

“Now my Latin is at an end!” Carmen called out 
merrily, gathered up her scattered schoolbooks, and 
put on her hat. ‘“ Springtime commands it!” 

Frau Maria placed her hand on her husband’s arm, 
and walked beside him, filled with joy and pride. Car- 
men clung to his other arm. Her glances were con- 
stantly on the passers-by, to ascertain whether they 
took proper notice of the appearance of the Ottens. 
Her merry chatter never ceased. Thus the three people 





242 THE ADVENTURER 


offered a picture of assured domestic happiness. Ot- 
ten felt both the cruel incongruity of the picture and a 
happiness in spite of all; a happiness so sweet that he 
would not have given up the feeling for anything in the 
world. His heart began to beat more regularly, and 
his mind worked properly again. The experiences of 
the last few hours were relegated to the background, 
and a strange feeling of well-being came over him. It 
was a moment to rest and recuperate mentally. 

The big garden of the Flora was in full bloom and 
fragrance. Pretty women and girls were wandering 
about in fluffy spring costumes, and all of them seemed 
to wear the same smile of contentment, that beautiful 
gift of spring. Never had the garden, never had old 
Cologne seemed so beautiful to Otten. ... 

And the happy mood continued, while they sat at 
one of the small tables and ate the delicacies Carmen 
was permitted to select, and drank the wine from 
glasses of gorgeous cut, as was befitting the brand. It 
lasted while they sauntered home arm-in-arm as they 
had come, and while Otten sat at the piano and played 
beautiful pieces that were full of sentiment, while the 
woman and the girl stood at his side. It only disap- 
peared, as if it had been suddenly frightened away, 
when he had gone to bed with a last friendly “ Good- 
night, Maria.” 

Wild thoughts chased each other in his brain. What 
had happened? What had he done? He had been 
untrue to himself, had turned a jolly game into an 
affair bloody and serious. And for what? Just be- 
cause he had allowed himself to be used as anvil by a 
little, passionate, cowardly woman. He, who until then 
had never known aught but his own merry hammer- 


THE ADVENTURER 243 


ing. And because he had dropped the friend on ac- 
count of a little lying reincarnation of Eve. He had 
been untrue to himself. And that spelled shipwreck 
to him. He could live only in sunshine. 

He listened to Maria’s regular breathing. ... She 
slept happily at his side, and yet he had wished her 
good-night so briefly. How did a man like him get such 
a wife? He who was forced to step into the arena arm- 
in-arm with the worst? And, suddenly, he saw again 
the scene of a few hours before, when that other woman, 
the one who believed herself so far superior to her sur- 
roundings, had cowered in fright, had denied him like 
a culprit, had thrown away all dignity, whining slav- 
ishly at the threat to her existence; to that existence 
which she owed to those surroundings she considered so 
inferior. Oh, to think no more. To shut out that 
scene! He felt as if he were choking. 

How could a man with such shame as a burden live 
on with a Maria ? Her woman’s love had made 
him strong. Her woman’s love had extended his youth 
far beyond its natural limit—and he had let a female 
wreck his life. 

It was so degrading that even Maria could not help 
him, must not help him. “ My good, pure Maria,” he 
muttered. And then he lay there, with wide-open eyes 
and tightly-closed lips, awaiting the morning. 

At last it came. Otten went out early. He had 
taken a number of papers with him, and went to his 
old notary. 

** T have had a bad dream, my good friend,” he jested. 
“And you know what a superstitious lot we artists are. 
When we discover the first gray hair, we tear it out 
and imagine ourselves young again, and that others 





244 THE ADVENTURER 


think us young. But then a day comes when we would 
have to tear out every hair on our head, to become 
young again. Somewhere, somebody bids us adieu, and 
we once more execute our most graceful bow.” 

* But, my dear Herr Doktor, we all do the same 
thing, if that is any consolation to you. Even Schiller 
said: ‘ Only age is young, and only youth is old.’ And 
an old wine—as you know—can compete thrice over 
with new.” 

* At all events, Herr Notar.” 

** At all events, it is well to prepare. A last will and 
testament? ” 

“No, a gift. Here is an inventory of my estate. I 
want to place this sum at the immediate and un- 
restricted disposal of Frau Maria Otten; these papers 
to remain deposited with you until you may have con- 
ferred with Frau Maria Otten as to investments and 
drawing of interest. You will do me a great favor by 
executing the necessary documents at once, so that I 
may add my signature. I have to start on a trip this 
afternoon.” 

Later Otten visited old Klaus. The old man walked 
nervously around his friend and benefactor. “ It 
really is a shame that I must desert like this,” he said. 
*‘ But the little place in Zons can’t be rented, and it is 
just as old and dilapidated as I. And then it is the 
family property. Old age makes a fellow selfish, and a 
person would like to have a spot of his own to die on.” 

“T’ll visit you, Klaus.” 

*‘ Jupp, let’s shake hands on that!” 

“ Have you anyone in sight to take your place? 
Somebody who can be depended upon, even when the 
master is not at home? ” 


THE ADVENTURER 245 


“T shan’t leave the house until I have a good man 
in my place. You just depend on that, Jupp.” 

“ Well, then, adieu, Klaus. I wish you much luck 
in Zons.” 

Toward evening he took leave of Maria and Carmen. 
They escorted him to the depot, and he succeeded in 
deceiving them through merry conversation. He had 
kissed Carmen again and again, and turned to Maria. 
* All aboard!” the conductor shouted, and closed the 
coupé-doors. Then he grasped her in a quick, violent 
embrace. “ Farewell!” he said. 

She looked after him with frightened eyes, until the 
train disappeared in the distance. And he saw those 
frightened eyes until he reached Godesberg, and still 
later. ‘The woman within her—the wife within her— 
has—understood me.—God help her.” 

At Godesberg the depot-master greeted him pleas- 
antly. 

“Frau Liittgen took a train for Italy last evening. 
But Herr Liittgen is at his villa.” 

So she had simply deserted. Caring nothing about 
the men who would fight with deadly weapons on her 
account. Only careful of her own little existence. 
Bravo! Bravo! 

He went to an inn and retired early. At five o’clock 
the next morning he stood in front of the hostelry. His 
witness awaited him. Slowly and silently they walked 
along the street, soon leaving the last houses behind. 
They entered the park at half-past five. 

Two hours later they brought Joseph Otten to Bonn, 
and into the hospital, He was unconscious. 


CHAPTER XIV 


In the life-story of Joseph Otten there was a gap. 
And this gap was an unbridged chasm. ‘Two years had 
passed, and they had been bitterly empty ones ; they had 
forced themselves wedgelike between yesterday and to- 
day. A new pact had to be made with the present. 

The day had come when he was to leave the fortress 
of Ehrenbreitstein, into the confines of which he had 
been banished a year before. It had been a dreary ex- 
istence, simply a canceling of the days, as they passed. 
He had made no use of the liberty of the city which is 
accorded to such nominal prisoners as he, and the 
walks between the walls of the fortress had sufficed for 
him. Then he would lean against the wall and look 
down into the valley of the Rhine, or into the valley of 
the Lahn, only to turn his head again and follow with 
his eyes the line of the great river northward, searching 
the horizon for the three admonishing spires of the 
Cathedral of Cologne, which, to his fancy, kept remind- 
ing him of broken oaths. There was a sameness of the 
hours, and a sameness of thoughts, and neither hour, 
nor thought, pointed ahead. The year which had pre- 
ceded this had dulled his feelings for all that was to 
come. 

He had been lying in the hospital, and the bullet had 
been extracted from his chest. Merely the edge of the 
lung had been touched, but the most absolute rest was 
insisted upon, in order that the wound might heal prop- 

246 


THE ADVENTURER 247 


erly, and that there might be no after-effects that would 
make it impossible for him to follow his calling again. 

Otten had submitted silently to every instruction of 
the professor of medicine. He let the physician do with 
him as he thought best, understood and followed every 
hint, and, when alone, lay in bed without stirring, star- 
ing at the ceiling. One word only had been written in- 
delibly in his mind, and that word he could not banish. 
His art was in danger. One night—the nurse was 
sleeping on a sofa in the room—the question arose 
monstrous and fearful in his mind. His art in danger! 
He had endangered everything else before, his wife, his 
child, his reputation, and the reputation of others. 
But in the practice of his art he had always found 
recuperation, new strength and vigor. It had enabled 
him to make up for other things, to even matters up, to 
win the hearts of people to himself. And it had been 
the secret of his surprisingly resilient youthfulness. 
To become an art-invalid meant more for him—to be- 
come an invalid in everything, an invalid in life. There 
remained nothing but old age. 

Perspiration covered his forehead and his body. Out 
of the bed covering, out of the wall, and from all the 
corners of the room, there crawled little, crooked, gray 
old men, limping and tottering, with canes and with 
crutches, shaking their heads, grinning at him with 
hideous familiarity, and climbing with great difficulty 
upon his chest. Then he had given vent to a cry of 
despair—and to only one. The nurse had leaped from 
her couch, had hurried to his bedside, and in the middle 
of the night had called the physician. 

And then all sorts of figures had passed his bedside, 
ghostlike and unreal. Several times when he had 


248 THE ADVENTURER 


opened his eyes, there had been above his a pair of eyes 
that could only belong to Maria. Then the fluttering 
restlessness within him had increased, and the cause 
had not escaped the physician. 

** Everything that might cause a mental disturbance 
must be prevented, Frau Doktor,” the physician had 
said. ‘‘ You are much too brave not to realize the effect 
of your presence here. I will have you called as soon as 
there is a convalescence and the patient asks for you.” 

And silently as she had come, Frau Maria had re- 
turned to Cologne. 

Slowly Otten had recuperated. And a day had come 
when he felt the longing to see someone. He desired 
to see the student Lachner. At the secretary’s office in 
the university his address was learned, and that same 
afternoon Moritz Lachner sat at the bedside of the 
ideal of his childhood and his youth, pale and with bated 
breath. 

“ Well, well, well—do I look so dreadful? ” 

* Only a little—thin as yet, Herr Doktor.” 

Otten’s hand passed over his hollowed cheeks. Nose 
and cheekbones protruded markedly. ‘“ Just wait un- 
til I am up and about again. You can’t keep migratory 
birds in a cage. But just throw them out of the open 
window, and they will quickly remember how to fly. 
Can you spare me a little time, Moritz? ” 

“My time is yours, Herr Doktor.” 

Otten nodded in silence. His hands played upon the 
covering. ‘ Have you been in Cologne recently?” he 
asked suddenly. 

“You mean in the Rheingasse——” 

* You have a fine ear, Moritz. We will easily un- 
derstand each other.” 


THE ADVENTURER 249 


“ Frau Doktor and Carmen are well. They live very 
quiet and retired lives.” 

“JT believe it F 

“May I also speak of—your—opponent? ” 

“Of whom? He is no longer my opponent, my boy. 
But I don’t know what there would be to tell of 
him.” 

“He will have a stiff arm for life, Herr Doktor,” 
and the eyes of the student glowed with satisfaction. 

“You must be mistaken. It was I who paid the 
bill.” 

“No,” Lachner said, “ he was wounded before you 
were hit. Only he did not permit them to notice it, in 
order to get a shot. It is his left arm.” 

“God in heaven,” Otten slowly remarked, “ what a 
hatred that man must have felt i? 

When Moritz Lachner received no further reply, he 
softly arose. ‘‘ Until to-morrow, Herr Doktor, if I 
may.” And when no answer came, he left the room on 
tiptoes, deeply affected. There was silence in the room. 
Now and then a branch of the climbing rosebush outside 
tapped against the window. And Otten opened his eyes 
wide and mumbled: “* How he must have hated me—— 
That makes me smaller still 8 

On the next day he greeted Lachner with a friendly 
face. “Sit down, Moritz. I had a little weak spell 
yesterday. But that will not happen again, I assure 
you. And now don’t look so worried. Show me that 
a person may have confidence in you and have a serious 
talk with you. A talk of a sort that, in ordinary 
times, the difference of age would not very well permit. 
Can I do that? ” 

* You can, Herr Doktor.” 











250 THE ADVENTURER 


* All my life I have had such a wealth of joy that 
I did not place much value upon that multi-colored 
throng of acquaintances, so that to-day I can scarcely 
recall an honest face, that would have to tell me any- 
thing aside from dulci jubilo, or to which I would 
have anything else to say. Only the Reverend Hein- 
rich Koch. You know the professor. But he is in 
Rome, and himself suffers under the burden of life, 
and I would not care to trouble him. Hence you will 
do me a favor by being twenty years older for a while. 
I need you.” 

“ Herr Doktor ” And Moritz Lachner slowly 
pushed his hand forward on top of the bed covering. 
Otten took it, patted it, and dropped it. There was a 
lengthy pause. 

“Now listen carefully. I will be able to get up 
within a few days, and in a week or two will be able to 
leave the hospital and go to a bathing-place. Later 
there probably will be—the trial, and what will follow 
I need not tell you. You are a student, and you know. 
A year at Hohenbreitstein is the least. Are you 
‘listening? ” 

“e Yes 3”? 

“Tf a human being, who heretofore has never hes- 
itated to make any sacrifice for me, wishes me to find 
my equilibrium again ”—Otten breathed deeply— 
“then I ask that human being to leave me alone, to 
let me go my own road. You shall go and take the 
message. You have a good heart, and a sensitive soul, 
and you will find the words. Upon paper such a mes- 
sage would look cold and distorted. And you shall add: 
That the only deep and real love I have ever had, has 
been my love for her. And that this love has been the 








THE ADVENTURER 251 


best thing in my whole life, and will remain its best. 
And that, therefore, I could not see her again—not yet, 
at least. For, in order to live, I must be able to fly, 
and must not crawl. She will understand me. She 
has always understood me.” 

Moritz Lachner sat, with his hands in his lap, open- 
ing and closing his hands, to hide his emotions. 

* Will you do that for me, Moritz? ” 

*T will, Herr Doktor.” 

Otten gave him his hand. His eyes looked steadier, 
his whole manner was more calm. “ And give my love 
to Carmen. My blood in her is an evil inheritance, if 
she does not know how to ennoble it. Moritz, you 
will look after her, from time to time. Don’t consider 
everything beautiful in her, and don’t remain silent. 
There are real values within her.” 

*T know it, Herr Doktor.” 

** Come again to-morrow.” 

When next he called, Lachner found Otten out of 
bed. He stood up straight and extended his hands to 
his youthful friend. ‘ Soon I'll be out of this. I can 
hardly wait for it. My chest is in such fine condition 
that I would like to procure—a new soul, to match it. 
Well—never mind. First of all: Air, Clavigo!” He 
chatted all afternoon, told of the travels of his youth, 
and the years that had followed, but he did not refer 
to the conversation of the day previous. He had done 
with it. 

Six months later he had begun his imprisonment. 
And the days had dragged along, as if they had been 
weighted down with chains. The others, who, like him, 
had been banished for a period to this prison of chivalry 
and gentlemen, could not understand his reserve. They 


252 THE ADVENTURER 


shortened their days as best they could, once in a while 
brewing a bowl among themselves, and making extensive 
use of the permission to leave the confines of the fortress 
to visit the town. They considered this sort of im- 
prisonment as a mere matter of form, not as real pun- 
ishment. 

Only Otten felt the shame of it. The shame of be- 
ing bound to one spot, of being limited in his move- 
ments, in his desires, and doings by rules, be they ever 
so lax. His freedom-loving nature could not become 
accustomed to a life of confinement. To ask for 
“‘ permissions ” like a schoolboy, or a recruit—he had 
to laugh at the mere thought. Thus the year became 
in his case one of mental and physical torture, and this 
torture increased whenever he took a retrospective 
glance at the cause of it all. For that Woman! Who 
had known, instead of the bravery of the big sin, nothing 
but the cowardice of the small. And who had dragged 
him, as a vain dupe, into the mire of her cowardice. 
This he could not learn to endure. 

And in this mood he wrote to Frau Maria and offered 
her a divorce. For the sake of her own reputation, 
which he wished to respect in the future. 

Her answer came, without maudlin sensitiveness, clear 
and strong. She declined the divorce. “It is not so 
long ago,” she wrote, “that I could have forgotten 
how my heart belonged to you, even without the formal- 
ity of official sanction. How could the divorce change 
that, since the eventual union could not? You are 
free, as you have ever been. Whether you will re- 
main away longer, or come home to me, Joseph, you 
know that we have accustomed ourselves to love—not 
to complain. Therefore, for the first time, I am not 


THE ADVENTURER 253 


able to comply with your wish. You shall retain your 
harbor, if it be merely for the knowledge of having it.” 

A few days before his discharge he had a surprise. 
The manufacturer, Carl Liittgen of Cologne, asked for 
a few minutes of conversation. Should he decline to 
see him? No. In his own way, he was no coward. 
He took a paper and wrote, asking Liittgen to wait 
two days, as he was accustomed to receive visitors only 
as a free man. Day after to-morrow he would be at 
Koblenz, at the “ Hotel zum Riesen.” 

Now he was free. The mighty rock, the last bastion 
that had held him, lay behind him. And with his hands 
in the pockets of his jacket, he wandered slowly over 
the bridge-of-ships that led to Koblenz, counting every 
pontoon, every yoke of the bridge. He looked at every 
pedestrian, at every workingman. They all seemed 
intensely interesting to him. At the Hotel zum Rie- 
sen a room had been reserved for him. He stood at the. 
open window, and looked at the Rhine, flowing past be- 
low, when the waiter announced Liittgen. Slowly Otten 
turned about. And there stood the two men, looking 
quietly into each other’s eyes. 

“You have grown old, Joseph.” 

For a second something akin to humor played about 
Otten’s lips. “ And you—rather impolite.” 

* Pardon me. I am an old bear. But it was so 
marked that I was shocked. Are you ill? ” 

“Only sick of past surroundings. The last years 
have been poison for me. I need a change of air. I 
believe the sun of Italy will soon rejuvenate my blood 
and drive this deathly pallor from my features.” 

** You intend to go to Italy? She is there, too.” 

Otten stepped toward him. “ Liittgen,” he said; 


254 THE ADVENTURER 


‘please do not even mention her name. Even that 
exists for me no longer.” 

“1 had not thought that it did. There will hardly 
be any difference in our way of looking at this matter. 
Hence, let me talk about it quietly. I am not doing 
it on her account, but on my own.” 

“On yours? Please take a seat.” 

They sat opposite each other. The pause that fol- 
lowed, neither noted. Both had learned to wait. 

* Joseph,” Liittgen finally said, “ I did not wish that 
you should go away and continue to consider me a 
bloodthirsty bully. It was not meant for you that time. 
Surely I knew her mastery of all the arts of Eve, and 
her art in denouncing and slandering, and I knew what 
she was at bottom. There are some women that are 
born as a friend to some Louis the Fourteenth, or Louis 
the Fifteenth. They work from earliest childhood 
toward that one goal, and when they happen to become 
mixed up with a decent chap on the road, they have to 
demoralize him, before they go farther. I had been 
caught badly. And I wanted to regain my self-respect 
through you. And then it had to take hold of you 
also. Can you see, Joseph, that a simple rupture with 
her would not have given me back my equilibrium? 
Those damned, tantalizing, scornful eyes would have 
pursued me night and day. I had to find something 
that would give me the upper hand, something that 
_ would humiliate her thoroughly. And then that mis- 
erable, unhappy thought, to challenge you out of 
hatred for her took hold of me. It was simply be- 
cause of my hatred for her, and because I liked you 
too much, Joseph.” 

Otten silently nodded. Liittgen continued: 


THE ADVENTURER 255 


“ Of course, I had not anticipated the result of my 
speech at the dinner-table; had not expected that she 
would deny you, and that now I could no longer injure 
her fatally through you. In reality that should have 
ended the whole matter. Never in her life would she 
have been able to rid herself in my eyes of the awful 
humiliation her own cowardice had meant for her, and 
it was a foregone conclusion that, after this scene, she 
would leave my house as quickly as possible. But also 
your superior chivalry came as a surprise to me. Now 
I could not turn back. I was angered anew, and I was 
being pushed on. Your cool chivalry towards a lady 
who had just denied you, I considered as an intended 
affront, an added insult. Blinded by my fury, I saw in 
you another version of her. And thus it came to 
pass. Only when you fell, I felt how dear you were 
to me. Joseph, I would like to beg your pardon. I 
dragged you into this thing. I should never have 
wounded you.” 

“ Through, Liittgen? ” 

“T am through.” 

“I don’t presume that we are sitting here merely to 
say nice things to each other. If you feel that you 
have made a mistake, I”—his eyes flared up— feel 
that I have made a far greater one. And through it 
I probably have—who knows—missed the connection, 
without which life is a thing of fractures, and not whole 
or complete.” 

He arose, and so did Liittgen. 

“Young yesterday—old to-day. That is the re- 
ceipt and the acknowledgment, Liittgen. Perhaps 
we'll once more catch an end of Dame Fortune’s gown, 
if we exert ourselves. With an effort! Formerly we 


256 THE ADVENTURER 


had it and held it without effort. At all events, I will 
go away once more to try. You would like to shake my 
hand, Liittgen, and I want to grasp yours. So——! 
And now, that is settled. Vogue la galére.” 

* Farewell, Joseph.” 

* Thanks, Liittgen, and—farewell.” 

On the next day Otten traveled over the St. Gotthard 
to Rome. “ After all,” he thought, “I was right that 
time, when I was afraid to ride out of the Italian spring 
into the German winter, and when I left the train at 
Basle. I wish I had turned around and gone back. 
How will I find Rome? What will I find there of my 
own self? And that is my chief concern, for I am 
bringing along so very littl” 

As he arrived in Rome, his figure straightened up. 
It was around Easter time, and, in order not to be 
crammed into one of the crowded hotels, he drove to 
private lodgings on the Via Frattina, near the Spanish 
Staircase. With hungry glances he took in the scenes. 
Rome remained Rome at all times. Everything de- 
pended entirely upon him. 

That evening he found Heinrich Koch at Peppe’s at 
the Fontana Trevi. The finely modeled head of the 
savant was raised in surprise when Otten entered, and 
the eyes behind the spectacles lit up. “ By all the 
Saints! Joseph——!” 

“‘ Good-evening, Heinrich; I have come again.” 

“ All day long I have had a peculiar feeling. My 
landlady’s cat was licking and cleaning itself, and the 
Signora said: ‘ There is a visitor coming.’ Cats and 
women have the finest instincts. Joseph—Joseph— 
how glad I am!” 

He drew a glass from the center of the table, rinsed 


THE ADVENTURER 257 


it with a few drops of wine, and filled it to the brim. 
“To your health! Drink and be welcome.” 

*“ And to your health, Heinrich. ... How good 
that does taste.” 

* Let me look at you. A curious person, who knows 
no more the taste of the Genzano. Have you been in 
the realm of shadows with Odysseus? Where the poor 
devils only get cups filled with blood for refreshment? 
Try another.” 

* You have hit it, without wishing to, Heinrich. I 
am coming from the realm of shadows, and am trying 
to find sunshine again.” 

*“The tone of your voice has grown serious. And 
you vanished two years ago.” 

“Do you think it impossible to regain two 
years? ” 

“The question is, whether one wishes to regain 
them.” 

* You are—informed? ” 

“ Wait a minute,” Koch said, reflectively moving his 
spectacles. “It must be a long time ago—or it only 
seems so to me, because with me minutes often drag as 
- if they were eternities—when some vague report reached 
here of a heated encounter in which Joseph Otten’s 
storm-pennant fluttered. But I had seen your storm- 
pennant flutter so frequently, that I was not surprised. 
It ended—ill for you? ” 

“Thank your Creator every day for your celibacy. 
And don’t hold on to the bottle.” 

“For my celibacy? Between serail and celibacy, 
there is a middle road. We will not dispute that ques- 
tion. It does not suit our gray heads. For only now 
I see that your locks, too, have been compelled to pay 


258 THE ADVENTURER 


the tax. You have grown gray, but it is becoming to 
you.” 

Otten looked up from his glass. “Is my name still 
mentioned here once in a while? ” 

* You must not demand from Rome any more than 
Rome. This is the pigeon-cote of the universe. 
Pigeons fly in and fly out. And each likes to be the 
center of the crowd.” 

* That means: I have been forgotten 

* Not among the old folks. But the young ones are 
demanding things more stormily than before. Or, does 
it only seem so to us, because we are growing slower? 
Names are now being made over-night. Artists are 
raised upon the shield, to be thrown down to-morrow 
for others. They are as quick in forgetting as they 
are in proclaiming. Just now a heroic tenor from 
Munich is holding court of all musicians. A 
nice-looking chap, whose voice appeals to women’s 
nerves.” 

** Has he any brains? ” 

*T told you, he has a voice.” 

** And how is it among our friends? Do they ever 
ask for me? ” 

** Here people ask only about those who are being 
mentioned in the newspapers. Since they ceased to 
write about you, you were believed to have died.” 

“Then they forgot, and went into the camps of the 
new ones.” 

** And went into the camps of the new ones.” 

Otten slowly took a drink of wine. “ And you, Hein- 
rich? ” 

** My dear boy, I am living here as a historical curi- 
osity; I am growing to be a Roman celebrity. There 


9 





THE ADVENTURER 259 


is not a stranger, searching for information, who is 
not asked the question: Have you met Professor Koch, 
the great historian, who knows not only the history of 
the Popes, but also the history of their wines; that 
luminary of the church, who loves a drink, and who 
detests the shavelings?—And I am becoming acquainted 
with people by the thousand. They are not growing 
better, Joseph; only more forward. And the old say- 
ing remains true: The old friend I will still call mine; 
the new one may not be so fine.” He extended his 
hand across the table. ‘ We two, Joseph, we'll re- 
main as of old. It seems strange, and I don’t know 
why it is, but it seems that, time eventually having 
dealt the cards more evenly, we understand each other 
better now than ever. As a churchman, I began with a 
loss, you, as an artist, with a big gain. How much 
longer, and we both will be the same—lone human be- 
ings.” 

** Never! ” 

“T wish you another lustrum, no, a decade. And 
when my prophecy goes to pieces, I will sing a Te- 
Deum. Otten, my dear fellow, I am not saying this to 
frighten you, I am only telling it to you, in case there 
might come a time when you may despair; when you 
would give a kingdom for a human face like your own. 
Then think of me. We two together, we could defy 
heaven and earth. For we have the common recollec- 
tion of our happy youth. I wonder how old Klaus 
ot is 

“Ts the little Eccelenza still living in Rome? ” 

“‘ She has gone with her husband to Rio de Janeiro, 
his new post. Once she sent her duenna to me to ask 
about you. You had scarcely left.” 


260 THE ADVENTURER 
* Indeed 


was nice of her.” 

On a beautiful spring afternoon Otten drove out into 
the Campagna. He was alone in the vehicle. The 
party with which he had had an appointment had not 
waited for the hour set for the meeting, and had driven 
ahead. He leaned back in the little rig, and basked in 
the sunshine. The horse trotted with a slow, leisurely 
gait. 

Formerly, even two short years ago, he would have 
urged the driver with the promise of extra tips to 
hurry to the objective point of the drive, where Ey- 
vivas would have been awaiting him. To-day he was in 
no hurry. He would not be missed. All about him 
the Campagna stood in full bloom. The meadows and 
pastures, too extended to behold in their entirety, were 
covered with glowing colors. The Campagna in bloom. 
That was all. 

As usual, the driver turned on his seat in front of the 
Osteria, the Faccia Fresca, to ask if he should pull up. 
Otten told him to stop, and started forth to see if his 
party had remained here somewhere beneath the vine- 
clad pergolas. Carrying bottle and glass, he walked 
through the rows of the guests. They were not here. 
Then he took a seat near a small table, and drank his 
wine in solitude among so many people. 

The noisy crowd shouted and laughed the same as it 
always does at this place. Troubadours sang their 
arias, the mandolins chirped, the tambourines rattled 
and boomed. Otten looked up. A brown girl in multi- 
colored garb extended her hand toward him, begging a 
soldo. Her black eyes beamed upon him, as if they 
existed for him alone. 'They would beam just the same 





She sent, to inquire about me. That 


THE ADVENTURER 261 


upon his neighbor. He gave the girl a coin and looked 
after her, as she walked with swaying hips from table 
to table. Upon the neighbor Formerly he had 
never troubled whether there was a neighbor or not. 
But it seemed to him that, since then, his vision must 
have grown more acute. Her hands had been brown 
and dirty, and the tables were unclean, and the waiter, 
carrying the wine about, had thrust a finger into the 
neck of each liter bottle. And here he himself had 
shouted at one time: “ Youth, oh, my youth, let me 
hold on to thee!” 

And surely it had not been any more beautiful then 
than it was now. In truth, was it really so beautiful, 
so indescribably beautiful? With a long glance he 
scanned the landscape, and he found a melancholy note 
in it, a note of a rapid decay, which he had never 
noticed before. If only Koch, the old Roman, were 
here, so that he could ask him. And he plainly heard 
the voice of his friend: “The landscape does not 
change. The eyes that see it, change.” 

Again he sat in his little rig, driving along the 
road of all roads, the Via Appia. And he saw only 
the ruins, but not their majesty. 

At the Osteria Antica he found those whom he had 
sought. They sat upon the roof of the hostelry, and 
the circle scarcely opened to admit Otten. 

The young spoiled heroic tenor was relating his ad- 
ventures. There were princesses galore in his tale, but 
no dragons. The time of the fairy-tales lay in the 
past. 

Somebody introduced Otten. The young singer 
looked up in surprise. “ What, you are still alive? 
Surely, I have heard your name—a long time ago? ” 





262 THE ADVENTURER 


“Unfortunately I never heard yours till this day. 
I have been in the desert several years.” 

“Ts there really a desert where my name is not 
known? ” the young singer laughed. And Otten’s fine 
ear heard the vanity amidst the intended humor. 

“There are places mine was hardly known,” he re- 
plied jokingly. 

** Well, yes. Now it is our turn! Old sentimental- 
ity is worked to death. Only in the theater the singer 
stands as he should, provided a fellow is up-to-date 
enough to feel the trend of the time.” 

“Every time has her trend, my dear sir. Hence, 
every period is modern. The meaning of that word is 
very elastic.” 

“Oh, very well. Just look at our modern composers, 
and at us modern singers. We are no longer roaming 
Bohemians, we are people of the world, and first-class 
people of the world at that. And with that spirit as 
basis, we produce.” 

“Tt is a question whether poesy has pitched her 
tents among first-class people of the world? Gentle- 
men, I call on you as witnesses. We, frequently 
enough, drew her from Trastevere.” 

“ Don’t degrade us before the maestro, dottore.” 

The youth was the maestro, he the dottore. Nothing 
is eternal but change. Otten smiled. 

* At all events,” the young man shouted, “ we have 
the hilt in our hand, and we intend to use it. The 
crop is ripe, the reaper coming. Youth has the 
floor.” 

* Dottore, don’t forget that once upon a time you, 
too, were young.” 

* Once upon a time—no, I am not forgetting it. But 


THE ADVENTURER 263 


the young forget that the day will come when they, too, 
will be old.” 

* What does that mean? ” 

“It simply means that some day they will be the 
old men. And behind them another period will be push- 
ing onward to destroy their temples. And they will 
have to look on without understanding. They will have 
to! Gentlemen, therefore all honest artists, all honest 
human beings, should strive to wipe out the border be- 
tween youth and age, rather than to emphasize it. The 
smooth skin, or the wrinkled? Often the fire burns 
most brightly in the old round stoves.” 

* You are spoiling our mood, dottore. Let us be 
merry, let us be jolly.” 

“T am in the best of moods.” 

When they started back towards Rome, Otten used 
his one-horse vehicle. Again he was alone. The big 
landau was crowded. Six sat in the fond, and a sev- 
enth had mounted the seat beside the driver. As he 
stepped into his rig, something forced him to look 
aside. A carriage had stopped. A tall man with a 
wide full beard, a well-known sculptor, stepped out, 
and, passing him with a bow, entered the Osteria to 
bring a fiasco of wine to the carriage. The woman 
sitting in the carriage was Frau Amely. For a mo- 
ment their eyes met. Then she dropped her lorgnette, 
after nervously raising it. Without a change of ex- 
pression, he turned away, entered his vehicle, and drove 
past her. 

The Campagna was glowing in red and golden tints, 
and the sky, in glowing colors, arched above. ‘“ The 
evening sun,” Otten mused, looking at the driver’s 


back. 


264 THE ADVENTURER 


“JT must go on,” Otten confessed to himself a few 
days later. “I have not yet regained my absolute self- 
control. A person cannot leave accustomed ranks for 
a great length of time, and re-enter them suddenly, 
without finding that he has lost the proper and usual 
gait. We have to learn things anew. And Rome is 
not the place for that.” And he said so to his friend 
Koch. 

“T am glad that you have the courage for it, Jo- 
seph ” 

“The courage to live? I intend to prove a great 
deal more of that.” 

“T wish I could look at things like that. O God, 
to get away from this life! My boy, when I think how 
we used to leap overboard, swim like ducks and dive, 
wherever the water was deepest. It was music when 
the water rushed into a fellow’s ears! And that music 
could have been improved! And now I am wading in 
shallow water, decade after decade, and the river of life 
flows away back yonder.” 

“Tt is your calling, Heinrich.” 

* A man’s calling is whatever his inclination and 
talents call for. I possess the qualities of an historian, 
but I should never have been a priest. And, in the 
course of years, my tonsure has grown larger, not 
smaller. Has religion such need of applying strait- 
jackets? Is it necessary that we priests should con- 
tinue to form a gloomy class, instead of proclaiming 
the sunshine of life, and praising God, as we feel it and 
Him in our innermost? ‘The devil resides in the flesh! | 
What medieval nonsense.” 

‘Resign from your office, Heinrich.” 

“We are bound for life. Only now, when I am on 





THE ADVENTURER 265 


the downward path, I feel the enormity of the word. 
For life——_ That is hollow now, and we battle along 
with the imitation. Yes, you have understood me 
aright. I battle with the devil and his tribe, with the 
punishments of Hell, with atonements, with miracles, 
dogmas, and stigmatizations. And I could throw all 
of that overboard with a happy smile, and be a religious 
but a free and happy man, if I could find the heart once 
more to have a good hearty laugh. Until then I am an 
adventurer—just the same as you. Through sins, and 
through virtues. The only difference is, that you are 
doing it of your own free will—and freedom, a real 
man’s liberty, is ever a child of greatness.” 

“Come with me into the world. I'll sing, and you 
collect.” 

“ And if it were a joke—I’d do it, Joseph! But I 
have not yet finished my history of the church. A few 
more volumes remain to be written. And I do not want 
to leave behind me a torso as the sum-total of my life’s 
work. That would not even let me find rest in Heaven. 
There must be a clean finish!—Where do you intend 
to go?” 

“My agent has long ago been wanting to arrange 
an extended tour through all of North America. I 
will telegraph him, to get to work at once. Then I 
can go aboard a steamer in two weeks and wave a 
farewell to the Pillars of Hercules. Good-by, Old 
World! In the land of unlimited possibilities I 
will find the possibility to again become—Joseph 
Otten.” 

** Will you promise me one thing, Joseph? ” Hein- 
rich Koch said after a moment of thought. ‘“ Promise 
me, upon our old boyhood friendship? ” 


266 THE ADVENTURER 


* Tell me, what? ” 

“To return by the way of Italy, when you come 
back in a few years? I will—be industrious—in the 
meanwhile—industrious, to finish my history of the 
church.” 

“TI promise, Heinrich!” 

“You see, we both have lost. If we would put the 
remnants together? ” 

“That would be damned jolly! I only fear that we 
would kill ourselves laughing too much.” 

** Do you place such a low estimate upon your power 
of resistance? ” 

* Old fellow, I am going to the Yankees. What will 
be left of me, body and soul, when they are through 
with me, I will gladly contribute as my share in the 
business.” 

“That is a go, Joseph. I'll wait. And as for the 
rest—we'll cross the bridges when we get to them.” 

Only Heinrich Koch came to the depot to see Joseph 
Otten off, when he went by train to Naples, there to go 
aboard a steamer. Joseph Otten carried his head erect, 
as in the olden days. Distance was calling, and he 
meant to meet it, head up. But it was his iron will 
that gave him the necessary elasticity, not the longing 
of yore. Silently the two men stood upon the railroad 
platform. The train was ready to leave. ‘ Pertenza! 
Pronto!” 

Heinrich Koch shoved his eyeglasses upon his fore- 
head and touched with his lips the forehead of his 
friend. 

“ Farewell, Jupp.” 

* Adieu, ’Drickes 4! 

And, as the train was pulling out of the station, the 





THE ADVENTURER 267 


reverend professor pulled his handkerchief out of the 
pocket of his long, well-worn coat, waved it frantically, 
and shouted as loud and lustily as he could, while Ot- 
ten looked out of the car window: “ Alaaf Kolle! 
Jupp! Alaaf Kolle!” 


CHAPTER XV 


Once more the name of Joseph Otten arose in its 
former glory. From the new world came reports—en- 
thusiastic praise of the master of witchcraft, who 
handled songs and poems as he would living things 
whose souls he invoked and liberated. For two whole 
years the big cities of America took turn in praising 
him. With surprise Germany received the news of the 
extraordinary successes of the man whom they had 
idolized at one time, and then counted as among the 
dead or lost, and only those who thoroughly under- 
stood conditions read between the glowing accounts and 
criticism the trumpet calls of a clever impresario, who 
knew his Americans thoroughly, who knew their lean- 
ing toward the sensational, and who met it by telling 
of wondrous incidents in the life of the interesting 
maestro, things that made him appear not only as the 
only artist of artists, but also as the last knight with- 
out fear or favor. ‘“ America,” some knowing ones 
said, and added, shaking their heads: “ A good press 
agent means the game half won.” 

Joseph Otten had become popular in America. He 
knew the reason. He knew that his personality was 
being exploited rather than his art. And one day, when 
he read in a newspaper an exaggerated account of some 
adventures of his, under the headline, “ Friend of 
Women, Enemy of Men,” a flush of anger mounted to 
his cheeks. 

268 


THE ADVENTURER 269 


But he took no steps to stop this thing, so repulsive 
to him. His anger flickered out in a smile of self- 
condemnation, he pushed the paper aside, and from 
this time on the newspapers remained untouched by 
him. “I must not mind. No matter what is the 
attraction, as long as the audience is satisfied, I must 
be content now, for I must not give in, be it ever so 
painful.” 

And the thought, to earn in America a new fortune, 
which would enable him to spend the evening of his life 
far away from the rush and bustle of the world, and in 
accordance with his own taste, took hold of his entire 
being. After appearing in all the big cities, he toured 
the smaller ones. He went through every part of the 
United States, through the cities of Canada and of 
Mexico. And finally he made a second tour through 
the big cities of the States. Of course, thought Otten, 
it was the press-agent’s work which filled the houses 
night after night to overflowing; but the fact re- 
mained that the audiences were really pleased with 
what Otten considered the remnants of his art. And 
when, one evening in May, Otten boarded a steamer in 
New York, bound for Genoa, the two years he had 
intended to spend in America had become four. Even 
more silent than his going had been, was this, his re- 
turn. Joseph Otten the man was all that returned. 
The remains of his art he considered buried in America. 

Now he intended to bid a last farewell to that coun- 
try which throughout his life he had loved above all 
others. From there he wished to take with him the last 
impressions, as a fund to draw from in the lonely 
future. Once more he would travel throughout Italy, 
before placing the Alps between himself and _ his 


270 THE ADVENTURER 


lost youth. . . . At Naples he left the steamer, board- 
ing another bound for Palermo. He wanted to greet 
every foot of Italian earth once more. The sun was 
burning hot, but he needed to gather much warmth 
for the winter that lay ahead. 

A final farewell, this... . The Conca d’Oro, the 
Golden Shell, lay between the mountains that skirt 
Palermo, filled with golden sunshine and with golden 
fruits. The radiant garden of nature, covering the 
mountain-sides with flowers, and with orange and lemon 
orchards, pained his eyes. Otten passed the ever green 
hill Monreale, with the Cathedral of the Norman kings; 
the fairy-park of the Villa Taska oppressed him with 
the richness of its sweet fragrance, in the Cathedral at 
Palermo there were too many people, and only when 
he came to the porphyry caskets of the emperors of the 
Hohenstaufen Dynasty, to the resting-place of the 
powerful and despotic Heinrich VI., and of that laugh- 
ing victor, the second Friedrich, he leaned against the 
caskets and dreamt of the ancient Teuton longing for 
the country of Sunshine beyond the Alps. Porphyry 
caskets. ... Entombed... . 

These appeared to him the proper surroundings. To 
draw strength for the life to come from the fate of the 
dead. Not to value one’s own existence too highly. 
There is another awaiting each of us. 

He walked through underground passages, following 
the red glow of a light, swaying to and fro before him 
with the rapid movements of the guide. And Otten 
even urged the man to go still faster. And still he was 
walking through a realm where time had ceased to have 
significance, through the tombs of the Cappuccini 
Monastery. His steps echoed in the immense vaults. 


THE ADVENTURER 271 


On, on! That was not what he was seeking, that 
created no proud mental superiority. It only caused 
nausea. The greatness and grandeur of death which 
arises even from despoiled graves into the world of the 
living, fillmg it with awe and with respect, had been 
supplanted here by mummery.. And his angry glances 
met mummies, clothed in the gowns and decorated with 
the insignia of their station in life, hanging suspended 
in bundles from the walls, standing together in groups, 
or lying in caskets of glass or rotting wood, exposed 
to every eye, to every profanity, to every touch, their 
skin and bones yellow, brown and black from the dust 
of the years. Women who had once been beautiful, 
whose beauty had been jealously guarded by husbands 
or brothers, now in torn and tattered rags, their limbs 
exposed. Matrons, dressed in the remnant of a hood 
or a shirt, children and babies in dusty little beds. 
From the corners came the dead stare of officers, of dis- 
tinguished Palermitans, of dignitaries of the church. 
Moth-eaten hair still clung to their skulls and chins. 

“Here you see, Signore,” said the guide, “ a priest 
of the year of 1620. He still has his tongue in his 
mouth.” And he opened the mouth of the suspended 
corpse, moved the tongue within, that had become as 
hard as leather, and then stroked his own beard with 
satisfaction. 

** Avanti, and may the devil take you!” Once more 
the guide stopped near the exit. He raised the lid of 
a box and held up his light. “ One of Garibaldi’s Gen- 
erals, who fell before Palermo.” 

Joseph Otten stepped nearer. He stood, deeply 
touched. A brave warrior was being exhibited here 
for a tip. Why did you fall and die? 


272 THE ADVENTURER 


In the bottom of the box rested the body of a slender 
man in a simple shroud. Matted black hair hung 
about the wonderful head, a curly black beard sur- 
rounded the chin. An expression of solemnity still 
lingered about the face of the hero. 

** Did you anticipate your fate? That they would 
show you like a stuffed animal? That they would even 
tear the simple shroud upon your chest, to show hys- 
terical women that, after decades, your dense black 
hair is still curly? The gratitude of posterity for the 
elect. To rest in peace.—It sounds like bitter sar- 
casm.” 

Joseph Otten stood upon a tall rock, and his eye was 
searching for Syracuse. Not for the rows of houses 
upon the old Isle of Ortygia, that bear the name to- 
day, like the sound of a bell ringing afar. He sought 
Syracusa, the glorious City of antiquity, the Power of 
two seas, and his eyes searched stones and pebbles in 
an empty, lonely country. Only the seas had remained 
throughout the thousands of years, and the waters of 
the African sea still mingled whisperingly with the 
waters of the Ionic Sea, just as they had mingled in an- 
cient times. 

And again Otten thought of fate, that swept away 
without pity name and fame. The traces of the queen 
city of the Earth had disappeared, and the stones of 
her ruined walls had been scattered to the winds. Far 
away to the horizon, the ground was sparsely covered 
with poor vegetation, and the great names of the past 
sounded hollow and meaningless in the mouth of the 
guide, who was standing beside Otten on a step hewn 
out of the rock, pointing now this way, now that, men- 
_ tioning the sections of the city, now resting beneath 


THE ADVENTURER 273 


heavy earth, removed far from the pygmy human race: 
Ortygia, with the mythical spring Arethusa, Achradina, 
Tyche, Neapolis, Epipoli ! 

** Where are the temples of the gods? Where is the 
mighty palace of Hieron, and the lofty Acropolis of 
the tyrant Dionysius, of the man who put the stamp of 
his greatness upon his time, and who was despoiled of 
his glory through legends? The barren land gives 
forth no answer. Or will it answer? Does it but ask, 
that you will listen to the answer more intently? ” 

He descended the steps, the remains of which had 
been torn from the bowels of the earth. Poor remains, 
without the ornamentation of beautiful pillars and 
joyous capitals, that once had adorned the greatest 
theater of Greater Greece. And he descended farther 
into the bowels of the cliffs that thousands of years ago 
had given blocks of stone for the erection of that won- 
drous city, into the quarries, into the Latomiens. 

Was he removed from the world? Had he, after all, 
found the pathway to the garden of Eden, to the 
beauty that was lost? Towering, perpendicular walls 
of rock frowned upon him right and left, his heart was 
beating heavily, as if between prison walls—then, sud- 
denly—a gateway in the rock. The towering walls re- 
ceded, a valley opened before his vision, a gem protected 
by its rocky walls against intrusion, a paradise full of 
roses and myrrh, of laurels and palms, of flowers and 
trees of every species. The air was mild and balmy. 
Silence reigned absolute. And the longing that drives 
and forever drives the human being since he lost the 
garden of Eden, and cannot find again that lovely spot, 
despite his homesick soul,—that longing ceased to 
trouble the wanderer. As if he were within the confines 


274 THE ADVENTURER 


of a consecrated place, Otten folded his hands. A 
fairy-tale of flowers. . . . And beneath this fairy-tale 
of flowers slept something great; slept Syracuse, the 
queen of cities. Old Syracuse, in her sleep of death. 
How beautiful it was. Dead—and beneath flowers. 

Another quarry, and another latomie of flowers re- 
ceived him and bore him away from the day, that re- 
mained behind. A walk with many strange windings 
led him through the heart of the rock, and a memory 
flashed through his mind: “ You are within the ‘ Ear of 
Dionysius.?” The guide spoke. It resounded from 
the walls, the ends of which he could not see, like yell- 
ing and raving, like crying and sobbing, like laughter 
of the insane all in one. Here thousands of Athenians 
had perished miserably after the unfortunate battle 
of Syracuse, for which Demosthenes and Nikias had 
paid with their heads. High up in the rocky wall is a 
tiny cave, and legends tell that there the tyrant Di- 
onysius stayed, to listen to the conversation of his 
prisoners. For here the echo of the whispered word 
grew in volume to the magnitude of the ocean’s roar. 

Silently Otten walked through. And he heard the 
stones speak of the decay of Athens, and of the blood 
of its most noble sons, and he heard them speak of vic- 
torious Syracuse, itself no less the victim of fate. 

* Sic transit gloria mundi *” he muttered. 

And he went farther and deeper into the realm of the 
lost city. There was something within him that urged 
him on, to investigate death and decay amidst the 
glories engendered by the warm sun of Sicily. 

Ahead of him there walked a wearer of the hood, a 
monk of San Giovanni. He carried an antique oil- 
lamp, suspended by an iron chain, the wavering light 





THE ADVENTURER 275 


of which shone in ghostly fashion upon the tombs on 
either side. The inclined subterranean passage came 
to a sudden turn, silently the monk raised his light, 
and before their eyes was a maze. A city was spread 
out before them, with streets and alleys. ‘ This is in 
reality old Syracuse,” Otten thought, with a feeling 
of depression ; “ I am in the city of the dead.” 

Silent homes they are, indeed, that at every step are 
on either side of the visitor, making progress slow and 
breathing difficult. Vault after vault is passed. Thou- 
sands and thousands of them. Here a family of rulers 
in the spacious grave of their dynasty, there a single 
person, yonder a child.—No, they sleep there no longer. 
Their bones, their jewels, their ornaments, their death- 
money, their rags, and their sacred treasures have been 
taken away to Museums, to be placed in show cases, 
behind glass walls, and only the thousands of empty 
vaults tell the wanderer: “ Here you have what you 
seek, Here is Syracuse.” 

The sun beating upon his head, Otten traveled 
through Calabria. He passed by the ruins of temples, 
of Saracen towers, and of Norman castles, going along 
the almost endless, lonely coast, and the blooming 
change from antique and romantic beauty told him 
nothing. He only saw death at work. Death and 
decay. 

“JT should not have lingered,” he often thought. 
* The knowledge that I will never see any of this again 
draws a gray veil over my eyes.” 

He had traveled long stretches in a little vehicle. 
But now he boarded a train and rode to Naples, going 
on to Capri without delay. June had arrived. But 
not as usual did an overheated sun look down upon 


276 THE ADVENTURER 


burnt-out shrubbery and parched flower gardens. 
Spring had not yet released its hold. It was a coax- 
ing, delightful late spring, loath to leave the multi-col- 
ored shores. The fragrance of blooming flowers, laurels, 
and myrtle was floating over Capri. Coaxingly it was 
being wafted over the pale-blue sea to meet the fra- 
grance sent by the gardens of Sorrento as answer to 
silent courting. But the human beings who came, 
year after year, from the North, causing the brown 
Capriots to disappear amidst their fourfold greater 
number, let the steamers return empty to Naples, and 
held Monte Tiberio and Monte Solaro as their own, as 
well as the big and the little Marina, for the simple 
reason that Spring was setting them an example. A 
happy dolce far niente prevailed upon the island. Peo- 
ple hardly did more than breathe. . . . 

Quite out of sorts, Otten retreated from the crowds. 
He had hoped to find the island in summery solitude. 
But instead, everywhere this gossipy, inquisitive, in- 
triguing crowd, which it seems to be the fate of Capri to 
shelter once each season. 

Amidst the blue ether across the gulf the silhouette 
of Mount Vesuvius was seen. The sarcastic fiery spirit 
of the Mountain had grown weary of the sameness of 
things, of the peace in nature, and to show its disgust 
and contempt, spat its anger up into the air. As yet 
the light of day absorbed the fiery glow. Only an im- 
mense pillar of smoke forced from the mouth of the 
crater, was visible, arising and filling the atmosphere 
above with clouds. The people looked casually at the 
spectacle from piazzas on Capri. 

Late in the afternoon, Otten again walked out to 
the wall that extends along the top of the hill above the 


THE ADVENTURER 277 


great Marina. After listening to the shallow gossip 
of the traveling philistines, he wanted Nature to speak 
to him. And Nature spoke. 

What pyrotechnics were those, yonder at the coast 
where night had come? Had Mount Vesuvius been 
illuminated in honor of some world-wandering hero? 
The immense pyramid arose like a specter, alone visible 
amidst the shadows of the night. At short intervals a 
geyser of fire spouted forth from the summit of the 
mount, and on its slopes the flaming, glaring contour 
of a river was drawn. Nothing else to be seen for 
miles and miles around. Silence and darkness about, 
and in the distance, far away, across the sea, a riddle of 
fire and flame. 

The next night, and the following, Otten returned 
to that spot, watching that great, wonderful spectacle. 
And when the freshening breeze of the third morning 
swept across the sea, a tiny vessel carried him past the 
gardens and grottoes of Sorrento to Vico Equense, where 
he hired a rig. And to the accompaniment of the 
cracking of the whip and the shouts of the driver, Ot- 
ten was carried along the street at a rapid gait, passing 
through Castellamare, and away from the seashore 
through meadows and fields, until, from a low hillside, 
the ancient, resurrected city of Pompeii stared at him 
through dreary, empty eyeholes. 

**'The incline railway to Mount Vesuvius has been 
put out of commission by the government, on account 
of the threatening danger,” the hotelkeeper at the side 
of the road announced glibly. 

What did that matter to Otten? So much the bet- 
ter, he would be alone in the region of the eruption. In 
Bosco Reale he took a horse. He had to deposit a 


278 THE ADVENTURER 


sum to cover the value of the animal thrice over, as 
security. The heat of noontime did not deter him, for 
was he not riding toward the heat that wondrously filled 
the breathing breast of Mother Earth, seeking an out- 
let, in order to avoid self-destruction? That was a 
picture which seemed familiar to him. 

The gardens receded, and the evergreen hedges. 
After a ride of an hour and a half he reached a last, 
lonely habitation, the Casa Bianca. The house had 
disappeared long ago. He rode over the back of the 
mountain, over the endless stone-field of the lava rivers. 
No path and no road was there. No tree and no bush, 
only brown masses of lava, hard as steel, with edges 
sharp as knives, as far as the eye could see. No 
call of life that could reach the ear. Here death 
ruled supreme, in the midst of an arid burned-up 
desert. . 

Shivering, the horse picked its way among the cliffs. 
Whenever it missed its footing, it stepped knee-deep 
into soft ashes. With a melancholy smile, Otten sat in 
the saddle. 

Threateningly the ashen mound of the old crater 
arose before him. Another hour, and the horse neighed 
in clear tones. It scented within this desolation the 
nearness of a human habitation, the small station of 
the Vesuvius inclined railroad. 

Otten dismounted and negotiated with the cara- 
binieri, who were charged with guarding the danger 
zone. The crater guides joined them, and Otten suc- 
ceeded in engaging them. A carabiniere walked be- 
side the leading guide. Thus the march toward the 
mouth of the crater began. One could hear only the 
heavy breathing of the men. Step by step the terri- 


THE ADVENTURER 279 


tory had to be overcome. The pulsation of the men’s 
hearts grew in violence, their thoughts grew more and 
more sluggish. 'The minutes seemed hours, and the ap- 
proach through hot, slipping, sliding masses of ashen 
dust without an end. Now—now! ‘The leader 
stopped. Nobody spoke. And slowly the senses re- 
sumed their activity. The summit had been reached. 

Another short march brought them to the edge of the 
ealdron. Like needle-points the sulphurous gases 
penetrated the lungs. The noise of Hell enveloped them. 
Hissing, roaring steam. From somewhere came the 
shout: “ Halt!” A few moments of forced breathing 
~-and there, scarce a yard away from Otten’s feet, a 
frightful scaly snake wriggled from the crater’s edge 
—the new river of lava. Slow and ghastly the glowing, 
flaming mass flowed down the hillside, an incompre- 
hensible, heinous, derisive monster. It was visible but 
a brief space of time. New masses of lava flowed over 
it, and the hissing, sulphurous steam hindered vision 
and breathing. . . . 

“No other stranger has seen that, Signore.” 

Otten only nodded. What did tame humanity know 
of the parent fire within the breast of earth? What 
of the powers that must go their own way according to 
their own laws? But these powers, suppressing them- 
selves, warm and bless the earth, while they, bursting 
their natural fetters, destroy all within their reach. 
Destroy { 

“ Well, my crater is burned out,” Otten thought, and 
again that melancholy smile played about his lips. “TI 
will do no more damage. But this picture here—this 
picture has been of benefit to me at least.” 

Evening was falling when Otten again mounted the 





280 THE ADVENTURER 


horse. ‘* Now only have I taken my leave—my farewell 
and a gift. The recollection of that picture shall warm 
the evening of my life.” 

Through the brown desert of stone, now etched in 
gold by the rays of the setting sun, he rode back. His 
figure, which had grown thin, hung carelessly in the 
saddle. Strands of gray hair hung from beneath his 
hat and fell on his brow. Strangely horse and rider 
were silhouetted against the sky. As if a lonely ad- 
venturer were traveling through the silence of 
death... 

Joseph Otten had arrived in Rome, but he did not go 
out. He spent his time during several days in his old 
lodgings in the Via Frattina, reading and dreaming, 
awaiting the answer to a letter he had sent to the 
Privatdozent Moritz Lachner at Bonn on the Rhine. 
The answer came. 


** My most esteemed Herr Doktor,” Moritz Lachner 
wrote, “ when I received your letter I did not know 
whether I should laugh or cry. Both from joy. You 
are on your way home!—My last letter, which I had 
sent to the address of your New York agent, remained 
unanswered. I told you in it how things were going 
on in Cologne, and that I had been admitted as Privat- 
dozent of history at the university at Bonn. It is 
evident that the letter reached you, as you are using 
my new title in addressing yours. Hence I need not 
repeat. 

“You are on your way home! Again and again 
the happy message rings in my ears, and turns my 
thoughts topsy-turvy. And yet, you do not wish to 
enter the gates of your home city, but to remain out- 


THE ADVENTURER 281 


side of her walls. I have not the right to ask. But I 
have the right to hope. 

' In the Rheingasse at Cologne, things have become 
quiet. After passing her examinations this Easter, 
Carmen has entered the university at Heidelberg, and 
for the present is devoting herself to the study of the 
history of art. Where her studies will lead later can 
hardly be predicted to-day. She spends her vacation 
with her mother, whom she has asked to grant her 
room and liberty for the development of her powers. 
Thus, Frau Doktor Otten has remained alone at Co- 
logne. During my visits I have not found that her 
tranquil nature has altered. She is as adorable as 
ever. 

“Young Terbroich has returned home, after spend- 
ing a few years in other countries, and is now doing 
office-work in his father’s place of business. In man- 
ners and outward polish he has improved, and the old 
friendship between him and Carmen seems to have be- 
come even stronger. An air of melancholy which he 
has acquired is certainly becoming to him. But I can- 
not help wondering how a girl of Carmen’s mentality 
allows herself to be misled by these artificial manner- 
isms. I am not writing this from hatred of Laurenz 
Terbroich, but because of my unchanged regard for 
Carmen. 

“ But now, let us come to the chief matter. Old 
Klaus has really been living at Zons several years. His 
house is quite nice and roomy, and an old relative of 
his, who was formerly a cook, is keeping house for him. 
I went to him immediately upon receipt of our letter, 
and he joyfully agreed to let you have the upper story 
of his house, which affords a view over the town wall 


282 THE ADVENTURER 


and the Rhenish landscape, including the river. He 
has remained remarkably lively and vigorous. Only 
he has grown more silent. And that is not surprising 
at his age, and—at Zons. Zons! Really, Herr Dok- 
tor, do you seriously intend to remain so secluded and 
so removed from the bustle of life? The little town 
lies forgotten amidst the shore-meadows, a delight for 
a painter’s eye, with its picturesque, medieval archi- 
tecture, but surely no delight in its absolute loneliness 
and seclusion for such a proud, passionate soul as that 
of Doktor Joseph Otten. This is no idle praise. I 
have only remained true to my ideals.” 


** He is thinking of the Joseph Otten he knew, years 
ago,” and the reader nodded sadly. “ A long time has 
passed since he ceased to exist.” 

Moritz Lachner’s letter ran on: 


** Hence, let me presume that Zons will only be the 
way-station on your return. If you can use me there 
or here for any service, you know that you need only to 
let me know. I am looking forward with anxiety to the 
moment when I shall again have the privilege of shaking 
your hand. With most sincere regards, always yours, 

* Moritz LacHner.” 


Otten folded up the letter, and placed it in his pocket. 
* A good boy. But to see him again? I don’t see why. 
How do the people of other times concern me——” 

At evening he went out. He stopped at Peppe’s and 
at Pasquale’s, but at neither Osteria had Professor 
Heinrich Koch been seen for some time. ‘“ He must 
be ill or traveling,” they said. ‘The madonna will 


THE ADVENTURER 283 


probably know.” And Joseph Otten started out to 
find the friend of his youth in his lodgings at the op- 
posite shore of the Tiber. The old housekeeper 
strangely evaded him when he asked for the Reverend 
Herr Professor. 

* Have I grown to be such a scarecrow?” Otten 
thought, with a touch of self-ridicule. But he knew 
the lodgings, and went to the door. He knocked. 

** Who is out there? ” Koch’s voice sounded within. 

* A good friend.” 

“ Of mine, or of the devil? ” 

“Yours, for the time being yours.” 

“That would be a miracle,” the voice in the room 
mumbled, and then the bolt shot back and the door 
opened. 

** Good-evening, Heinrich.” 

Heinrich Koch’s head appeared in the doorway. A 
thousand fine lines rested like a spider’s web upon his 
shaven face. His tall figure bending forward, he 
caught the visitor and pulled him into the room. “ My 
God in heaven, Joseph fi 

** Did you fear burglars, that you bolted your door? ” 

* Joseph !” Koch repeated. ‘“ Joseph ! 
He has returned!” 

“IT had promised to come to you, Heinrich.” 

* Now I believe again in Providence.” 

“Again? Such doubts in the mouth of a priest? ” 

“TI am priest no longer, Joseph. Here, take a seat, 
and put your feet underneath my table.” 

They sat opposite each other and looked at each 
other. Each sought himself in the eyes of the other. 

**T will first explain things,” Koch said after a pause. 
“So that you know in whose presence you are.” 











284 THE ADVENTURER 


** Tt is not necessary, Heinrich.” 

* But I would like to. There has never been any 
concealment between you and me. Since our childhood 
we have always shared each other’s thoughts and sor- 
rows. Have you some time to spare? ” 

“T am here only on your account.” 

Koch pushed his glasses up on his forehead, and, 
lying back in his easy-chair, looked up to the ceiling. 
* Only on my account ” A happy, boyish smile 
played about his finely molded mouth. ‘ Such a thing 
still exists in the world, and you had to come and teach 
me that, Joseph. For that reason I said before, that I 
believe again in Providence. I had lost my bearings 
in this unaccustomed freedom.” 

* You are free? Your work is finished? ” 

**'The last proof has been read. And then I had a 
long talk with His Holiness.” 

* You spoke with the Pope? ” 

**T had an audience, when I was permitted to present 
the last volume. And in that hour which the Holy 
' Father gave me, I explained to him the reasons that 
prompted me to place the remainder of my life upon 
another foundation. I did not wish to be a common 
deserter. I wanted to confess openly, face to face, as 
becomes a man. And the Holy Father appreciated 
that, even though he was compelled to combat my rea- 
sons. Only when he heard that these reasons were not 
of to-day, that I had been compelled years ago to dis- 
regard dogmatism and what goes with it, in order to 
remain true to myself; when he heard that I had re- 
mained true to my vows through a feeling of duty. 
that could not be shaken, toward the task once under- 
taken, and now brought to a conclusion, he ceased to 





THE ADVENTURER 285 


urge. ‘I hope for the grace of God,’ he said, and I 
replied: ‘I, too, hope for the grace of God in life and 
in death.’ Then I left the kind man, and left the 
Vatican, out of the libraries and record-rooms from 
which I could no longer take with me the best years of 
my life——” 

** Has the excommunication been announced as yet? ” 

“ Yesterday. They tried to meet me to the farthest 
possible extent. They thought they were bound and 
able to spare me on account of my life work. Possibly 
for reasons of policy. But I wanted no leniency. If I 
have erred, God will forgive me, because I have had the 
best of intentions: not to be a half a man. If I did 
not err, I will bring a whole man before God.” 

“It is not easy late in life to seek a new path, Hein- 
rich.” 

* No, that is the most difficult part. The bird com- 
ing out of a cage does not trust itself to fly away. Un- 
til yesterday there was life in my lodgings. One after 
the other, the gentlemen of the Vatican came, to try 
and change my intentions. Then came the anathema. 
And the first day of my freedom has been as if it were 
a Sunday of the dead. Even my housekeeper avoids 
me, as she would smallpox.” 

Otten smiled. ‘“ Well, well. So it was meant for 
you. I had accepted her manner as a homage to my 
ghost-like appearance.” 

Heinrich Koch paid no attention to the words. He 
looked thoughtfully ahead, and a light flush of embar- 
rassment colored his face. “No, it is not easy. A 
fellow finds no chum who wants only the comrade, as 
in the olden times, and asks not about his cate- 
chism.” 


286 THE ADVENTURER 


Joseph Otten extended his hand across the table: 
“You have me, Heinrich.” 

Koch took the proffered hand in both of his. His 
eyes lit up. He wanted to speak, but could not. The 
two again saw their childhood on the shores of the 
Rhine. 

“ There is not much left of me, Heinrich.” 

“Not for those outside. But for me! You were 
my morning-glow, when we were boys, and now you will 
be my evening-glow in age. Fate has decreed that my 
life shall complete the circle.” 

“It may be more likely, Heinrich, that I shall ex- 
pect the evening-glow from you. I am—played 
out.” 

* Joseph, we will not leave each other in the lurch. 
To-day, you help. To-morrow, I do. That will be 
one and the same thing now.” 

** Have you made any plans? ” 

* I only want to get back to Germany.” 

“To Germany I, too, want to go there—— 
To return to its soil, not to its people.” 

* You don’t intend to go to—Cologne? ” 

“No. Another time of that. I have no talents to 
play the part of the only original freak. And in the 
eyes of the few people who loved me once, I do not 
wish to distort my picture.” 

Will you take me with you?” 

“TI have come to ask you, old friend.” 

“ Joseph! Anywhere. And I would like it best 
somewhere where the Rhine flows towards the Nether- 
lands.” 

**T have rented a story in the house of our old Klaus. 
It is in Zons. The quarters will probably not be very, 





THE ADVENTURER 287 


comfortable, but we can fit them out according to our 
taste.” 

“ We'll paper the walls with our memories, Joseph.” 

* And our company will chiefly consist of old Klaus, 
who is no longer very seaworthy. Three shipwrecked 
men on a lonely isle. How do you like the picture? ” 

“JT like the company. In all the memories of my 
youth, old Klaus plays the part of a great, benign pro- 
tector. Joseph, when we three will be together, the 
old days of our youth will have reappeared. That is 
what I have been longing for, all these years. Once 
more the days of our youth.” 

With a slow motion, Otten pushed the strands of 
gray hair back from his forehead——He was only 
Bred a 

“ When can we start, Heinrich? ” 

“Whenever you wish to. To-day, to-morrow. The 
sooner, the better.” 

** Have you said farewell? ” 

“ Farewell? I want to celebrate a Wiedersehen, a 
reunion, not say farewell. Not until you put me into 
my casket, will I take my leave.” 

Otten arose. “ Well, then, to-morrow. And what 
shall we do this evening? ” 

JT will tell Peppe that he is losing his best customer, 
and will express my thanks to his Frascati, that it has 
given me courage and warmth enough to await this 
hour.” He took his hat. “ Let us go.” 

In the doorway he paused. ‘“ Man alive!” he ex- 
claimed, embracing Otten violently. And with embar- 
rassed face, reddened by joy, he descended the stairs. 

When Otten and Heinrich Koch separated that night, 
the moon was high in the heavens. Otten had escorted 


288 THE ADVENTURER 


his friend to his lodgings. Now he walked slowly past 
the Castle of Saint Angelo, over the bridge, crossing the 
Tiber, then entering deeper and deeper into the sleep- 
ing City, back to the point where the two had begun 
their walk home. 

Before him were rushing the whispering waters of 
the Fontana di Trevi. 

For a long while he stood there, and looked into 
the spouting, bubbling water. Then he raised his tall, 
lean figure to its full height. 

* This time,” he muttered, “ I’ll throw no coin into 
the rushing flood. This time I'll drink none of the 
water.” 

He placed his hands over his eyes, and continued 
with a sigh: 


* For I am not coming back ” 





CHAPTER XVI 


WueEn the steamboats plying on the Rhine have 
passed the green heights of the Seven Mountains, and 
have landed the last of the tourists at Bonn and at 
Cologne, they usually carry little more than freight 
to the lowlands of Holland. Sometimes a few pas- 
sengers remain on board; those who know that the 
romance of the river extends further down-stream than 
the vine-clad mountainsides ; who know that in the low- 
lands of the nether Rhine romance triumphs once more, 
and that this particular triumph is one of the loveliest 
and most enjoyable of the entire river’s course. Un- 
touched by the trend of the times, removed even from 
the railroad tracks which unite cities and villages, there 
stands, amid the meadows of the Rhine between the 
cities of Cologne and Neuss, a small fortified town of 
Roman origin, like an embodied legend of the past: 
Zons. 

Its history dates back almost two thousand years. 
As far back as the history of Cologne itself. A decade 
before the birth of Christ, Drusus built forts for the 
protection of the fortified camps of Cologne and Neuss. 
And Zons had been one of these. Here the Franks had 
held sway, and Saint Cunibert, the first Archbishop of 
Cologne, received Zons as a gift from the Frankish 
King. Thus it had become an outpost of Cologne. 
Often the center of fierce struggles, it had been trans- 
formed toward the end of the fourteenth century into 

289 


290 THE ADVENTURER 


a miracle of medieval fortification. Into a miracle 
that has withstood all the onslaughts of war and has 
remained to this day a bit of romance, which the world 
has passed by without noticing. 

Surrounded by powerful walls, that are crowned with 
parapets and flanked with defying towers and strong 
stone gateways, the ancient little Gothic town looks sur- 
prisedly upon the Rhine, apparently even forgotten by 
the mighty river. It was impregnable in bygone days, 
and the historians called it Virgo. And virginal it was 
to remain. Neither the Rhine-steamers nor the rail- 
road had a station here. 

It is a gem amidst the meadows of the Rhine, and 
few know of its existence. Ramparts and towers are 
dusty with age, and those who happen to pass the spot 
on the steamboats look in surprise at the old town, that 
rises like an apparition from the lowlands, like a resur- 
rected Vineta. ... 

Klaus Guelich’s house leaned against the wall of the 
old stronghold. From its upper story a view of the 
Rhine-basin was to be had, of the meadows, where short, 
gnarled willow-trees stood in long rows, like a regi- 
ment of veterans assembled for inspection. And across 
the meadows there could be seen the broad gleaming rib- 
bon of the slow-flowing river. The landscape seemed 
to breathe Dutch restfulness, as far as the eye 
could reach. A wreath of windmills skirted the 
horizon. 

The house was a clean-looking structure of massive 
beams, with white plaster panels between, with green 
window shutters and a black, tiled roof. Old Klaus 
had made it a point to keep the old house as trim and 
neat as if it were a ship, like the one belonging to the 


THE ADVENTURER 291 


firm of Otten at Cologne, in which he had traveled to 
and from Holland for so many decades. 

A carriage came along the road from the railroad 
station of Dormagen. Now it entered the quiet town, 
turned, proceeded along the street, running parallel 
with the town wall, and stopped before one of the last 
houses. Old Klaus stood in the doorway smoking a 
clay-pipe, sturdy, wearing a brown, knit jacket, his 
eighty-year-old weather-beaten boatman’s face framed 
in a closely cropped beard of snowy whiteness. 

* Tringche,” he called out over his shoulder to the 
stockily-built, middle-aged housekeeper, “is the soup 
ready? ‘The gentlemen are coming.” Then he stuck 
the stem of his pipe in the corner of his mouth and of- 
fered his broad hand to the gentlemen alighting from 
the vehicle. “So, here you are! Good-day, boys. 
You look sick!” 

“ Good-day, Klaus. Man of life everlasting! We 
come to earn that, too.” 

“Seems to me to be getting time you would. Or 
else you'll have to be born a second time. Well, well. 
A hearty welcome to both of you, at any rate.” 

That day they sat together at the heavy oaken table 
in the roomy hall of the lower story, which was also the 
main living room of old Klaus’ quarters, and ate to- 
gether. During the next days the furniture for the 
two gentlemen ordered at Cologne was to arrive. Then 
Tringche would have to serve the meals separately for 
the tenants. 

“ Hot,” old Klaus remarked, and let the others 
guess whether he meant the weather or the soup. There 
was not much conversation during the meal. The 
housekeeper brought the meat and the vegetables, knives 


292 THE ADVENTURER 


and forks rattled, and a few large flies, disturbed in 
their rest, flew and hummed about the window-panes. 
When the three men arose from the table, Otten said 
something in praise of the excellent cuisine. 

“Well, yes,” old Klaus said shamefacedly, as if he 
had been the artist who had prepared the viands. 

The two friends stood in their apartment at the win- 
dow, with their arms on their backs, close together, and 
took in the view. Melancholy was written all over the 
countryside, and all over the town. 

“ T like it here,” Otten said. 

‘If we strain our vision, we can see the spires of the 
Cathedral at Cologne, Joseph.” 

“Surely, we are not Toggenburgians.” 

“No, but it is well to know home is_ within 
reach.” 

“IT have no business there any more, personally. I 
want rest, Heinrich.” 

* Well, I was only thinking that some time they might 
need you there.” 

“They never have needed me so far. I have no 
lucky hand in family matters. Superfluous care, Hein- 
rich. As superfluous as I am myself. We will make 
ourselves as comfortable as we can here.” 

Heinrich Koch placed his arm about the shoulders of 
his friend. And they looked out upon the Rhine, 
where the slack sail of a freightboat appeared, gliding 
past lazily and silently. 

A week later their quarters were fitted up. They 
had divided the four rooms evenly, so that each of them 
had his own bedroom and his own living-room. A piano 
had come with the other things, and the bookshelves 
were crowded with volumes. 


THE ADVENTURER 293 


Heinrich Koch walked through the rooms, smiling 
happily. The student within him was re-awakening. 
“What shall we do now? ” 

* Nothing at all.” 

* Nothing ?” he repeated laughingly. 

* At least not for the time being. You poor beasts 
of burden believe that the happiness of human existence 
depends solely upon visible occupation of the individual. 
We tackle a thousand things and remodel them. Only 
our own selves we leave severely alone. There is also 
such a thing as internal occupation. Let us till the 
neglected ground.” 

“ All right. That suits me. And when we have cul- 
tivated that? ” 

“Then joy but begins. And that requires time, too. 
Just look about you, Heinrich. Who, to-day, knows 
what it means to enjoy life? Enjoy it to the last 
dregs? The ancient Teutons knew the secret, when 
they, returning from strife or chase, threw themselves 
upon their bearskins. They enjoyed everything 
doubly, if not trebly and fourfold. First in reality, 
then in the exchange of the tales of their exploits, later 
in their memories, and sometimes even in the songs of 
the bards. But we? What you have experienced and 
lived through yesterday, you have forgotten to-day. 
You hurry on and on, live without rest or pause from 
one day to the next. The adventure of to-day kills the 
memories of yesterday absolutely, and will be devoured 
in turn by the events of to-morrow.” 

“You speak of yourself, Joseph. Not of me. I 
live and have no fund to draw upon, except the memories 
of those few years of my youth.” 

* Well, yes—of myself. Perhaps, if I would go on 





294 THE ADVENTURER 


a hunt for shadows, some of them might kindly con- 
sent to assume shape and color. Thus I could slowly 
establish a court of knights and ladies, amongst whom 
I could ride to the joust.” 

“Will I be admitted? When we were boys, I used 
to be a railbird, but later on I did not have the nerve 
to peep in through the cracks in the enclosure.” 

* As often as you come, you shall be welcome.” 

They soon knew every nook and corner of the old 
town. The residents considered them a pair of dis- 
tinguished but odd old gentlemen, perhaps painters or 
architects, who had taken a liking for the peculiar 
charms of the old fortress in the lowlands. People soon 
became accustomed to them, and then they attracted 
little or no attention, when they walked forth with 
erect bearing, or inspected towers, walls, gates, and 
moats, to master the secrets of the fine general plan 
of the fortifications. The few inhabitants of Zons were 
taken up with affairs of their own. 

“< This is a splendid way to kill time,” Otten said. “I 
feel myself growing calmer day by day.” 

“ We look like country gentlemen.” 

“That is the only real calling. To sit on a fellow’s 
own ground and to test it day by day as to its quality. 
That gives a person the right conception of distances. 
Yes, our gentry knows a good thing when they’ve got 
it.” 

** Soon you, too, will have found the true perspective 
of your life.” 

“T hope so. There is a chance here. Just look at 
the Rhine. It is an arrow-shot’s distance removed, and 
formerly it flowed past close to the south wall of the 
fortress. Slowly it withdrew. The river respected the 


THE ADVENTURER 295 


divine quiet of this place, did not wish to be intrusive, 
and fled. Now the silence of the place is absolute.” 

At first they talked much of the history of the town. 
Lying beneath the silvery willows of the meadows, they 
looked up at the marvelous memorial of the Middle Ages 
arising before their eyes. 

“Here, we worn-out sons of our period lie and look 
at the strength and the defiant spirit of our ancestors, 
preserved in yonder stronghold. And where we lie, 
there lay the Roman and looked at his fortress; there 
lay the Frank and gazed at the castle of his king; 
there lay the hosts of the Archbishops, when they were 
not sheltered behind their walls and ramparts, laugh- 
ingly holding out against the burgher-warriors of Co- 
logne, against the Bergish counts, troops, and robber- 
bands during the Truchsessian war, or against the 
marauding Swedes under their splendid chief, Raben- 
haupt. <A bully fellow that, this Rabenhaupt. No 
other man during the Thirty Years’ War is said to have 
been his equal in cursing and swearing. When he had 
no more cannon-balls to hurl over the walls of a town, 
he threw his cuss-words against the people within, and 
his frightful cursing is said to have been more painful 
to the stout-hearted but pious defenders of Zons than 
his cannon-shot. Whom else have we to recall here? 
During the wars of Louis XIV.—the vicious Turenne, 
murdering and burning ; during the War of the Spanish 
Succession, Marlborough chasing the Frenchmen to the 
devil. And, later on, the great Napoleon granted 
favors, while stopping on the road to Dormagen. There 
is a wealth of names and events, a third of which would 
suffice to assure everlasting regard for other cities. And 
from Zons they have slid off into the sea of the forgot- 


296 THE ADVENTURER 


ten, like the town itself. And that very fact makes the 
old place so charming to me, so enviable. The divine 
slowness and restfulness all about have succeeded in 
making it forget even its own history.” 

“ Are you not growing somewhat ironical, Joseph? ” 

**'To be able to slide into the great Nirvana with a 
stony face, that is—an object.” 

When a month had passed, they asked each other: 
“Have you realized it?” And smilingly they shook 
their heads. 

On rainy days they would sit about the big oaken 
table in old Klaus’ main hall, arguing about questions 
of life and death. The two tenants would then smoke 
their cigars, and the owner of the house his long- 
stemmed clay-pipe. “It is a lot of nonsense,” the old 
man informed the others, expectorating, breaking off a 
little piece of the pipe-stem to fashion a new mouth- 
piece, and puffing on. “It is a lot of nonsense, to 
worry so much about dying. When a fellow has grown 
to be as old as I, he don’t believe in dying any more. 
And that is nice, too. If it wasn’t for that, old age 
would be a regular pest.” 

This simple wisdom silenced the two friends for a 
time. 

“T believe,” Heinrich Koch said after a while, “ Klaus 
has hit the nail on the head.” 

“ A matter of taste,’’ Otten mumbled. 

“Do you know of any better method than to ignore 
death? ” 

“To laugh into the face of the old skeleton with the 
scythe would be more to my inclination.” 

**T would consider that less great.” 

** But there is something manly about it. To die as 


THE ADVENTURER 297 


one has lived! When I was a boy and read the history 
of the French Revolution, I used to grow red in the face 
with anger over the rule of the mob. And I only en- 
joyed it again, when I read how the majority of the 
noblemen met their death. I am not a Byzantine. 
There is nothing in the world I detest more. But I love 
the aristocrats of thought, all men free from the taint 
of slavery. Heavens! Just recall how those men 
acted when they had to mount the guillotine, to be de- 
capitated. One last word was granted them. And 
what did they do? From their scaffold they would spit 
into the face of the raving mob. As if they would say: 
I despise and defy the death you deal.” 

The rain was beating a tattoo against the window- 
panes. And Heinrich Koch placed his hand on the arm 
of his friend, and said kindly: “ And that you call a 
little pleasant chat.” 

“No better proof than that, that I am in need of 
rest.” 

* Old stormy heart, you.” 

** A kind wave has cast me ashore far away from all 
activity. And I wish nothing more than to be allowed 
to lie where I have been thrown.” 

* Another month has passed,” Heinrich Koch said 
one day. 

“Again? You see, for us a month passes like a 
minute. Now we are beginning to approach the gods 
in their reckoning of time. I feel like forgetting to 
wind up my watch.” 

“To be like the gods is a noble wish.” 

“Yes. Here, we trouble ourselves with our thoughts, 
great and small, imagine ourselves to be most important 
beings, and the earth to be almost without bounds. 


298 THE ADVENTURER 


And yet it is but an ant-hill in the universe, and we are 
infinitesimally small ants, scurrying about and proudly 
bearing our—conceit. It is laughable! We consider 
ourselves the masters, because the functions of our 
senses reach no farther. And with the ant it is the 
same thing identically. And, perhaps, without our 
knowledge another gigantic Race may step godlike from 
star to star, invisible to us pygmies in body and 
spirit.” 

** Wish them a pleasant journey, Joseph. This bit 
of pilgrimage on earth creates work enough for our 
conscience.” 

Otten laughed. ‘ What a conscience those big fel- 
lows must have!” 

Fall came. On the opposite shore of the Rhine, in 
the orchards of Urdenbach, the fruits were being har- 
vested. The tow-traffic on the Rhine became more 
lively, and steamboats with high freeboards traveled 
down-stream, to cross the sea to England. Even the 
sleepy old ferry of Zons was kept busy. A crowd of 
young academicians came from the art school in the 
nearby city of Diisseldorf, bringing their painter’s 
outfits from Benrath and Urdenbach. They entered 
the quaint old town, set up their easels in front of look- 
out-towers and walls, and fought their battles with 
brush and colors on canvas fields. In the evenings there 
were singing and shouting and merry carousings in the 
inns. 

Soon the chill winds of fall drove away the jolly 
crowd. The last of the painters departed, promising 
to settle his bill from Diisseldorf, and the ferry slum- 
bered again, without being disturbed for half-days at a 
time. 


THE ADVENTURER 299 


Joseph Otten walked out again. The little rush of 
life, which had entered the old fortress, had been too 
much for him, and he had remained in seclusion. Now 
he again took possession of his favorite places, and his 
face expressed the satisfaction he felt at being undis- 
turbed. And his taciturnity increased. 

Heinrich Koch observed him closely through his 
spectacles. “It is the fault of the weather,” he said 
to old Klaus. ‘“ The ‘season’ is here, and he feels it 
in his blood. A man does not travel unpunished 
throughout his life.” 

“In winter, a person’s place is behind the stove,” 
old Klaus said. 

“T am used to sitting still, Klaus, but I am looking 
forward to the comfortable joys of the old-fashioned 
German stove, as I would to a Christmas present. It 
requires a free man to fully appreciate that.” 

When the first heavy storms swept across the low- 
lands, sweeping the leaves from the willows and bleach- 
ing the grass, Otten became more restless. He would 
rise early, take long walks along the shore of the Rhine, 
run along the roads against the strong wind, forget his 
noon-day meal, and return home tired and wet in the 
evening. When Koch had talked him into changing his 
clothes and doing honor to the evening meal, he would 
open the piano and sit, gloomily gazing at the keys, un- 
til his fingers would twitch, and from a few slight 
touches melodies would grow, which he would vary in- 
definitely. Then Koch and Klaus would sit listening 
in their chairs, charmed by the power flowing from the 
soul of that man into the music, and through the music 
into their own appreciative souls. And when he wanted 
to stop, they begged, until he would turn his head, see 


300 THE ADVENTURER 


their shining eyes, and again turn to play with a 
strange, far-away smile flitting over his features. 

Snow had fallen, and the frost, setting in, did not 
allow it to melt again. Cut off from traffic, the old 
town lay there. No wanderer passed the road, and 
thin crusts of ice formed at the shores of the Rhine. 
At the angle of the old town-wall, where Klaus Guelich’s 
house stood, it was most lonesome. Hardly ever 
did an inhabitant of the town find occasion to pass 
there. 

Fires crackled merrily in the stoves all over the 
house. Heinrich had sought permission to play fire- 
tender throughout the house, and he assumed this office 
like a real artist of life. Before he would tend a stove, 
he would go to a window, enjoy the wintry landscape, 
and then soliloquize: “ Well, I am real nice and snug 
here.” And then he would rub his hands and begin to 
work with shovel and tongs, until all of the stoves 
glowed like the cheeks of healthy children after a run 
on a cold day. And on every oven-plate he would 
place an apple. Throughout the house they were bak- 
ing, hissing, and giving forth delightful odors to the 
great joy of the old bachelor. 

** Now I imagine the door will open, and mother will 
come in.” 

** Or some other nice girl,” old Klaus chuckled. 

** And we are nice young fellows once more.” 

“ Well, we certainly are,” the master of the house 
said haughtily, brushing his silvery beard with his 
hands. Then they went to work. Old Klaus sat down 
in his wide armchair close to the stove, and entered 
deeply into the study of his great forbear, the rebel 
and drygoods-dealer, Nikolaus Guelich of Cologne on the 


THE ADVENTURER 301 


Rhine, and Koch won Otten for his plan of writing a 
special history of the Roman times about the nether 
Rhine. 

“ That is something for you, Joseph. And also for 
me. We must enter heathen times, must array men of 
deeds, investigate their creations, and yet be convinced 
that even in those times God looked in kindness upon 
his children.” 

Otten became enthusiastic. His historical school- 
ing, his university studies, came to his aid. Books and 
plans were ordered and arrived, comparisons were made, 
the routes of march and sites of camps of the legions 
and their allied Teutonic forces located, and soon they 
could start to draw maps of the various districts, in- 
tending to wander throughout the territory and make 
local investigations the following spring. And the 
work in hand grew. Men and events of the far distant 
past took shape and came to life again, and soon the an- 
cient camps and settlements in the now silent country 
swarmed with Roman warriors, with Nubian hunters, 
dark-eyed wives of leaders, and with blond German 
girls. And in the midst of them all there wandered 
joyously, despite their gray locks, Joseph Otten and 
Heinrich Koch, living and thinking and feeling with 
the resurrected population. 

During this time Otten began talking of his past. It 
was in the evening, when the three men sat around the 
oaken table in the Diele, the big petroleum-lamp, with 
its large green shade, was lit, the fire in the stove was 
burning lustily, and Tringche, the good-hearted house- 
keeper, had moved the kettle containing the boiling 
water for the grog from the hottest part of the stove 
and had silently gone to her room. 


302 THE ADVENTURER 


“There were some real women in those days,” he 
began. “ They had marrow in their bones and hearts 
in the proper place. Mothers and comrades in one. 
And, therefore, they were holy.” 

“That is not different to-day, Joseph,” Heinrich 
Koch remarked. 

“To-day? Well, then they are hiding their 
lights.” 

“ Hardly that, but our time does not regard these 
talents in their proper light. They are being over- 
shadowed by the brilliancy of their more frivolous 
sisters. People love sensations.” 

“ Yes, sensations America is the cause. Amer- 
ica has become the pattern for old Europe. And, 
slavish as most of us are, we ape Americans in a thou- 
sand and one things, whether or not these things are 
suitable and becoming to us. And yet there are many 
things that are proper and becoming for Americans, 
that do not suit us at all. The American woman’s do- 
ings, her actions, her dress are always lady-like. But 
our women are different, and, therefore, they should 
originate a mental and a physical style of their own. 
All this mania for freedom after the American pattern 
is, for the time being at least, a humbug in Germany. 
What has become of our sweet Hausfrauen, who always 
found time for all of our little worries? Surely some- 
body must have the time.” 

Heinrich Koch looked searchingly at his friend 
through his spectacles. Otten felt the glance and 
looked away. “I can divine what you wish to say. 
That we don’t want them any different from what they 
are, because—well, because it is the fashion, and because 
a fellow would rather be called an old ass, than be 





THE ADVENTURER 303 


told that he is not up to date. And yet, Heinrich, 
were the girls of our youth not the sweetest of 
creatures? ” 

** When I was in Prima I had a sweetheart who would 
not let me kiss her before I had promised to marry her. 
To her the kiss was so holy.” 

** And yet you deserted her? Heinrich, I am shocked 
at you.” 

“JT said, if I marry, I'll marry you. And I did not 
marry i 

** And she took the veil m” 

“The veil of the bride. She married a baker on 
the Schildergasse, and presented him with five sons. I 
became godfather to one of them, for I had become her 
favorite father-confessor, as a result of her old attach- 
ment.” 

“For the sake of that kiss. ... I, too, was fully 
sixteen before I discovered the secret. She was a 
pretty, blonde girl, as old as I, and consequently more 
mature, and I faithfully ran along after her. Well, 
you know her—the daughter of the director of the mine 
at Ehrenfeld. We loved each other immensely, but 
neither would tell the other, and, therefore, we never 
kissed. But sometimes we would touch hands. And 
that was a strange, electrifying feeling. Until I was 
over there one Sunday, visiting with a larger party. 
How vividly I can remember the scene! She wore a 
blue and white striped dress, with a wide sailor collar. 
Of course, we played pawnbroker, and I had to go with 
her on an errand of Polish begging: For my husband a 
piece of bread, for my wife a kiss. For my husband 
a kiss, and for my wife a piece of bread. And finally 
the couple of Polish beggars have to kiss each other. 








304 THE ADVENTURER 


Hers were lips of velvety softness, and of a sweetness 
that I had not conceived possible. I was simply intox- 
icated, and the entire hilarious crowd laughed at me. 
Only she did not laugh. She looked at my eyes, as if 
she wanted to cry. Yes And I caused her to 
weep later on, when I forgot her.” 

“Tf I only could, but the devil 
gan, and broke off, shaking his head. 

* And the loves of the university time were sweet, 
too,” Otten continued, “and the high-spirited girl 
comrades at the Conservatory.” 

“I know, I know. The enthusiasm in common, the 
laughter at the Philistines away below. Heavenly 
joys.” 

** And then the first tours through Italy. Even now 
my heart opens at the remembrance.” 

** Let us look into it.” 

**T don’t know what she did for a living. She wore 
the costume they were still wearing in the Campagna 
in those days. I believe she gathered flowers in the 
Campagna and made bouquets of them, which she would 
bring to the houses in Rome in the morning. My father 
kept me pretty close, but yet I managed to subscribe 
for the daily morning’s greeting. I have found no rea- 
son to regret it “ 

** And what came of it?” 

*T had to go on.” 

* Too bad.” 

* Too bad How often did a fellow have to go 
on, while he thought: Oh, well, you’ll return. The 
world won’t run away from you. And then, one would 
run away from one’s self and would only notice in later 
years, when one looked about, that the most virginal 





> old Klaus be- 











THE ADVENTURER 305 


and the most innocent has been the most beautiful and 
the most enjoyable. And only an episode——” 

** All these attributes, my dear Joseph, only fit in, 
because it was and remained only an episode.” 

** But the episodes that followed were episodes just 
the same, and yet they do not compare.” 

“ Perhaps that was because you had become accus- 
tomed to episodes by that time, and you wished to in- 
crease the sensations.” 

* Well, I'll not worry to find out. To reach the 
truth, a person would have to be innocent once more.” 

“Phat is it.” 

** But innocence disappears more and more. It may 
have its advantages, to educate daughters early and to 
broaden their minds, but it does not help human na- 
ture, and it kills all poetry. You cannot imagine how 
the young girls surround any artist who happens to be 
famous. And the most advanced ones among them are 
the most forward. They imagine that their breadth 
meets the freedom of the true artist half-way. And out 
of that material eventually our modern ladies are be- 
ing developed.” 

“IT expressed similar views to you in Rome, but in 
those days you were still a disbeliever.” 

“TI only except one class: the women who work, who 
really work, battling bravely with the world and trying 
to hold up their heads. They are admirable beings. 
But they have the peculiarity of not making people talk 
about them. They have no time for it. Those who 
shout have time a-plenty at their hands, and they don’t 
work. They are amateur workers. They put on a 
blouse, to be able to enjoy their laziness more com- 
fortably, and talk of equal rights, in order to be able 


306 THE ADVENTURER 


to throw themselves away more easily. What have I 
not experienced along these lines! ” 

** Are the German women the worst? ” 

“No. Only the least graceful, because they try to 
imitate others.” 

“Will you not tell us more about women who are 
lovable? ” 

“TY am done for this day. It is your turn to tell 
something.” 

Heinrich Koch removed his spectacles and wiped 
them. “I, personally, never got beyond the girl who 
became the wife of the baker,” he said, as he laboriously 
readjusted his glasses. 

**'Then it is your turn, Klaus.” 

The old man had been mumbling for some little while. 
Now he said: “I only knew one girl who would have 
suited me. She was a dandy lass, and she loved me 
more than anybody else in the world.” 

“Who was it?” 

“ Hang it,” old Klaus said. “If I could only re- 
member her name——” And angrily murmuring, he 
arose, tried to get the stiffness out of his legs, and 
hobbled over to the stove, to refill his glass with 
grog. 

At Christmas Heinrich Koch had received an orna- 
mental clay pipe from old Klaus, and now the two stood 
in front of the little house, where Koch was having his 
first smoke out of the new pipe. The two old bachelors 
understood each other splendidly, despite the difference 
in their ages. They were satisfied with their fate, and 
considered each day as more beautiful than the preced- 
ing one. 

“ Jupp is getting well, Klaus.” 


THE ADVENTURER 307 


* JT don’t know what you mean.” 

“He is again able to tell stories of his past without 
breaking off suddenly. That is a sign that he is no 
longer quarreling with the fact that his hair has grown 
gray. Now, when he has mastered his last, great 
worry, he will wake up from a long stupor.” 

* What is worrying him so much? Can’t a fellow 
help him? ” 

“Tt is the thought that he has troubled himself so 
little about wife and child. So little that he can claim 
no part of them. Not in justice. Do you under- 
stand? ” 

“No. I don’t understand it. Just let him go there, 
and tell her all about it. Then everything will be all 
right.” 

Heinrich Koch coughed. The sharp tobacco smoke 
coming from the new pipe irritated his throat. ‘“ No, 
no, no, Klaus. It is not so simple as all that. They 
are deep people, especially Jupp.” 

“Oh, tut. Deep or shallow. If they only are agree- 
able.” 

It was growing colder and colder. Icy winds swept 
the unprotected country. Drifting ice fastened itself 
to the shores of the Rhine, forming a smooth, solid 
mass, which extended further and further toward the 
center of the river, narrowing the strip of open water, 
flowing sluggishly, and carrying with it many greenish 
cakes of drift-ice. 

“No matter how cold it is out there,’ Otten said, 
constantly drawing notes from maps and books. “ We 
are here together with the first historic inhabitants of 
the Rhineland in the springtime of humanity. Have 
you concocted more baked apples, Heinrich? If I were 


~ 


308 THE ADVENTURER 


you, I would go to the big annual fairs as a waffles 
baker or something of the sort. You’d make a hit.” 

“Jupp! That is a great thought! Tringche shall 
bake us some waffles.” 

*“TIsn’t he a big child? ” Otten asked Klaus in the 
evening, when they were gathered around the oaken 
table, and Koch was enjoying his waffles with his grog. 
* Only I am not sure whether he has remained so, or 
has started all over a second time.” 

“What is the difference? The effect is the same: 
The waffles taste fine. Just you try them, Joseph. 
When that odor strikes my nostrils, I imagine myself 
a little boy again, standing with my father in front 
of the waffles booth. He was not rich, but he had to 
buy waffles for me. Those were festive days.” 

“The children of our days have passed beyond the 
stage of the booths at the Kirmess.” 

** Because they are being spoiled by their parents. 
It is much easier to spoil a child than to show proper 
love for it.” 

** Human beings, both old and young, are a lot of 
egotists. There is a show of love only where there is 
something to be gained.” 

**T think that the love of parents should be excepted 
from that arraignment. I will never forget what I 
once saw in Rome.” 

Otten looked at him... . 

“A bandit had killed a girl. He was condemned to 
death. The father of the murdered girl, his. brow 
bathed in sweat, begged a favor of the judge and the 
jury. They allowed the poor fellow to speak.—What 
do you wish?—I should like to see him die—What do 
you want?—I want to be present at his execution! 


THE ADVENTURER 309 


—That was a hatred so hot as can be created only by 
the love of a parent.” 

“ Was the girl of age? ” Otten asked after a pause. 

*T should think, Joseph, that children would remain 
children always to their parents.” 

On that evening the conversation flowed no more. 
Their arms resting upon the table, the three sat there, 
listening to the sighing of the wind outside, each think- 
ing his own thoughts. .. . 


CHAPTER XVII 


One morning in February, Moritz Lachner came to 
Zons. Professor Koch met him in front of the house, 
as he was making inquiries of the housekeeper. 

“Here reigns a feudal castle’s peace, sir.” 

“You don’t recognize me, Herr Professor. I am 
Moritz Lachner.” 

** Ah, the young Herr Doktor and valued colleague? 
You are coming a little early. As soon as spring 
comes, you might join us in our researches. We are 
going over the ground and resuscitating the dead. 
Would you like to help? ” 

“ T would first,” Moritz Lachner said with embarrass- 
ment, “ like to greet Herr Doktor Otten.” 

Heinrich Koch played with the lapels of Lachner’s 
coat. “ Joseph Otten Yes. But please do not 
attempt any awakening of the dead with him. Signs 
and wonders can only affect Otten through their ele- 
mentary weight and strength, not through talk. And 
surely we both wish that they may work, some day. 
You understand me.” 

“Herr Professor, every one according to his own 
gifts. Since I can neither rule nor govern the light- 
ning and thunder, I must depend upon the honesty of 
my speech.” 

“ Well, at any rate, come in with your honesty. If 
you will greet Klaus, I will inform Otten in the mean 
while.” 





810 


THE ADVENTURER 311 


Joseph Otten sat at his desk when Koch entered. He 
was surrounded by books and was taking notes. 

* Joseph, a visitor wishes to see you.” 

“Sorry. I don’t know anybody.” 

“Oh, yes, Joseph. Him you do know. It is young 
Lachner.” 

** Moritz? ” Otten laid down his pen. “ What does 
he want? ” 

** He wishes to make his bow to the kings in exile. He 
insists that he possesses the gift of honest speech.” 

“ Then he should exhibit himself at fairs, at court, or 
on the pulpit.” 

Heinrich Koch smilingly stroked his lips. 

“ Heinrich, I beg of you, take care of the boy. He 
really is a fine fellow, but I find that he improves 
through correspondence. Really, I don’t wish to see 
faces yet.” 

* T find that he was not at all forward. Although he 
has extended courtesies to you, and has done you 
favors, you did not invite him, and he did not come. 
If he comes now, without being summoned, he surely 
does so depending upon your proverbial chivalry.” 

“Leave flattery aside. All right, let him come 
and steal my day. I will not remain any one’s 
debtor.” 

Koch found the visitor conversing with old Klaus, 
who had grown talkative, despite his customary 
taciturnity. When Koch entered, the animated con- 
versation ceased. “I suppose it was all about Frau 
Maria,” he thought, and sent Lachner upstairs. 

Joseph Otten stood in the middle of his living-room 
when Moritz Lachner entered. The cold wintry bright- 
ness lit up his haggard features, and the gray strands 


312 THE ADVENTURER 


of hair falling down over his forehead. His skin was 
like parchment. Only the eyes had retained their 
bright, shining blue. And these eyes gazed upon Moritz 
Lachner, who was unable to speak a word. 

““ Good-day, Moritz. Why, boy, you are trembling.” 

“It is the excitement of seeing you again.” 

**T was beginning to think it was the excitement of 
seeing me like this.” 

* As if you did not always remain the same! Oh, 
Herr Doktor, I am so glad.” 

“Is that the honesty of speech of which you boast, 
according to Professor Koch? ” 

Moritz Lachner blushed. “I am also glad that you 
have such merry company. I was anxious about you, 
on account of this old town of Zons.” 

Otten pointed to books and maps. “ Occupation 
enough And now let a fellow take a good look at 
you. You have grown to be a fine-looking chap. Only 
this serious pallor does not belong to your youthful 
face. Have you anything to worry about? ” 

* Materially, no, Herr Doktor. I possess the best of 
fathers. You know him.” 

“Yes, the material worries we fathers are able to 
dissipate. But more we cannot do. Sit down, 
Moritz.” 

The young scientist looked thoughtfully in front of 
him. “ Herr Doktor,” he then said slowly, “ my father 
has not the mental fortune, but he would at least make 
the attempt.” 

* Your father, Moritz, is a dear old Idealist, who is 
sitting among his costumes and dreams fairy-tales. 
But the world and its people have nothing in common 
with such fairy-tales. Im the world, each and every- 





THE ADVENTURER 313 


one makes his own way, according to his own mind. 
Let them. I did no differently.” 

* Do you mean with that, Herr Doktor, that the peo- 
ple you have at home——” 

*T have only myself, Moritz. Let us have it that 
way. It is best for all of us.” 

** But a man’s vision is more penetrating, and a man 
like you has a power over hearts.” 

* Had—had!” 

** No, you have it still. You need only to wish it.” 

* Oh, I don’t need to.” 

* You will not? ” 

se No.” 

Moritz Lachner struggled with his words. “ Herr 
Doktor, I am here without being called. But just for 
that very reason—you may assume—that I did not obey 
a mere whim in coming. You certainly were very proud 
of Carmen in days gone by. Please remember that.” 

** In former days I was proud of myself, too.” 

* And to-day—Carmen is about to cast herself 
away.” 

“With young Terbroich? You came on that ac- 
count? ” 

“Herr Doktor, it is time that you take a hand in 
the matter.” 

Very plainly young Lachner had said that. Otten 
looked at him a long while. Then an ironical smile 
played about his mouth. ‘“ You love her? ” 

The boy looked up. His aquiline, intellectual 
features were working. ‘“‘ Yes,” he said, with an effort. 
“T do love her. But that would be no reason for my 
appealing to you. One may worship only when one 
loves.” 


314 THE ADVENTURER 


“And you fear that you could not do that if she 
became the wife of Laurenz Terbroich? ” 

“T fear that she will not.” 

* Strange enthusiast. Why, then you ought to be 
happy.” ; 

“TI fear that she will not become his—wife.” 

They were silent. Otten sat, leaning back far in his 
chair, staring fixedly at some distant point through the 
window. In expectant anxiety Lachner’s gaze hung on 
Otten’s features. 

* Herr Doktor 

* You wish? ” 

67 ? What you wish, Herr Doktor. I would 
like to hear your wish. Some advice, or some deed.” 

* That is a matter which concerns the mother.” 

Gaspingly Moritz looked at Otten’s stony face. 
* You cannot seriously mean that, Herr Doktor.” 

* I—not serious ?” Slowly Otten turned his 
face toward Moritz. ‘Once, in a heavy hour, I con- 
fided a message to my wife to your care. You were 
then the only one I could call upon. I don’t forget 
that. And you should not have forgotten the message.” 

* How could I forget that day?” the young man 
murmured. 

“Then, and a while later, I caused an absolute sep- 
aration. From pride, my boy. To spare the good 
taste of my wife. Take that ‘cum grano salis.? I am 
no recipient of alms, and my wife always was the wife 
of Dr. Joseph Otten. In addition, there was another 
reason—common sense. I was unfit to aid in the rear- 
ing of a girl of the type of Carmen. Whatever there 
is bad in her, looking at things through the spectacles 
of the critical outside world, she has inherited from me. 


299 











THE ADVENTURER 815 


I have done nothing, absolutely nothing, for my 
daughter as long as she has lived. The mother has 
done everything. What right, then, would I have to 
appear there suddenly, to assert authority, without 
ever having done anything toward gaining such author- 
ity? It would be a farce.” 

“ Herr Doktor, in this peculiar case 

“T ought to play judge of morals? Is the mother, 
who has reared and protected her, dead? I, Moritz— 
just think of it—I as judge of morals? Have you not, 
in addition, some abbey to award to me, or a bishop’s 
miter? For seven years past I have known nothing of 
my daughter, and she has known nothing of me. Unless 
she has believed all the rot that has been told about 
me.” 

* There has been much talk, Herr Doktor.” 

“Oh, very well. The people demand some heroes 
of that kind, as well as Rinaldinis. Let them have their 
fun.” 

“IT would not have dared to mention it. For I think 
too much of you to carry the gossip of the town to you. 
But just because I do think so much of you, Herr Dok- 
tor, I beg of you, do not let me be disappointed.” 

Otten arose. He placed his hands upon the other’s 
shoulders and nodded: “ You good fellow.” 

* Do not let me be disappointed e 

* No,” said Otten. “ You shall not be disappointed 
in me. For it would mean to make a disappointment 
out of all my past life, it would mean, above all, to 
destroy all the happy, blessed charm of the days of love 
through which I have lived at the side of Maria, if I 
would do as you wish. That we must take as it is. I 
cannot insult my wife in her best memories. If I would 


9° 








316 THE ADVENTURER 


say only one word in this matter, it would be a degrada- 
tion to my wife. Therefore, I must leave the solution 
of the matter entirely in her own hands.” 

Moritz Lachner arose. “ Now, I understand you,” 
he said softly, and, with some embarrassment, he added: 
* Frau Maria will find the way.” 

** She has never yet missed it, my dear Moritz.” 

**T will disturb you no longer, Herr Doktor. You 
are at work, I see.” 

Otten shook his hand. ‘ Let Professor Koch tell you 
about it. Perhaps it will interest you, and then we will 
gain a corresponding collaborator. But surely you’ll 
remain to dinner? ” 

Moritz Lachner could not stay. ‘ My three scholars 
at Bonn won’t miss me, but I should like to visit my 
father at Cologne for a couple of hours.” 

“Remember me to him. The evening I once spent 
with him and his red wine of Toscana has remained 
vividly in my memory. How beautiful life can be! 
Farewell, Moritz.” 

* You wish to leave so soon, my dear Herr Col- 
league? ” inquired Koch, who had been holding a dis- 
course with old Klaus. ‘ Will you not let yourself be 
made acquainted with our researches? Old ruins are 
sending forth new life. You will see that the 
old heathens were just as sensible as they were 
merry.” 

“If you can use me, I shall always be at your dis- 
posal,” Moritz replied. 

“We will take you at your word. The work will 
need brains and hands, if it is to become a cultural 
factor. It is, so to speak, a reconversion to the 
primitive.” 


THE ADVENTURER 317 


Old Klaus winked knowingly. ‘“ Don’t forget to give 
my regards to the Rheingasse.” 

*T’ll not forget.” And Moritz Lachner left the lit- 
tle enchanted old town, and walked along the road 
leading to the railroad station at Dormagen. A half 
hour’s ride in the train brought him to Cologne. 

In the afternoon he called upon Frau Maria. A 
maid opened the door and showed him into the room. 

Frau Maria raised her head as he entered. She 
was sitting at her little work-table, doing some em- 
broidery. Her wealth of hair had changed its color. 
It lay in silvery waves about her face, the youthfulness 
of which had remained. Only a very close observer 
could see the fine wrinkles, telling the story of sleepless 
nights. 

** It is you, Moritz? ” 

* Yes, Frau Doktor. And you are again alone? ” 

“Inasmuch as Carmen has come from Heidelberg, I 
am not quite as alone as at other times.” 

* But she is not with you.” 

** She is dressing in her room. She is going to a big 
masquerade ball, and on that account needs more time 
for her toilet.” 

** And for that she interrupted her studies at Heidel- 
berg May I offer you my company for a little 
while, Frau Doktor? ” 

“Tf you can spare the evening for an old woman, 
Moritz? ” 

Moritz Lachner silently drew a chair near hers and 
bent over the hand resting in her lap. ‘“* You are like 
a mother to me, and mothers never grow old.” 

* Don’t spoil me, Moritz.” 

** How easily satisfied you must have grown, that you 





318 : THE ADVENTURER 


accept the homage of such a simple person as myself as 
a favor.” 

She smiled. ‘ Not so very easily satisfied, after all. 
It is true, the fortune of my happy memories no longer 
pays interest, but the fortune itself is large enough 
that I may live upon the principal for the rest of my 
days. No, I am not so very easily satisfied.” 

*T can only admire you always.” 

* There is no reason for that. I only look at things 
as they are, and call them by their right names.” 

Then they talked about current events, of Lachner’s 
work as sub-professor at the university, and of his sci- 
entific plans, and scarcely noticed how the hours passed. 
The maid had brought the lamp, and the clock struck 
half-past seven, when Carmen entered the room. She 
wore the beautiful costume of the ladies of the time of 
the French Revolution. Her tall, beautifully modeled 
figure was shown to its best advantage in the flowing 
gown, and the cocked hat sat dashingly poised upon her 
black curls. There were grace and elasticity in her 
youthful body. 

* Isn’t Laurenz here yet? ” 

** Laurenz isn’t, but Moritz is.” 

* Oh, Moritz Hello! Are you playing hookey 
from your own lectures? That is jolly, but it eases my 
conscience, for I am playing hookey myself. Laurenz 
is really taking his time, mother.” 

** You should drink a cup of tea, and eat a few cakes, 
Carmen. It is cold outside, and it will be several hours 
before you get to the buffet.” 

** Will it please you, mother, if I do? But it is not 
a bit nice on Laurenz’s part to let me wait.” 

* Don’t forget that you are letting your professor 





THE ADVENTURER 319 


at Heidelberg wait just the same way,” Frau Maria 
said with a smile as she left, to prepare the tea herself. 

** Your mother is placing you upon a high level, com- 
pared with Laurenz,” Moritz Lachner said. 

She looked at him, surprise in her dark eyes. ‘“ Do 
you imagine that Laurenz does not do the same? ” 

He forced himself to meet her challenging look, but 
when he spoke he suddenly became pale. 

“JT know, Carmen, that you would not be able to 
live without that conviction, in spite of your liberal 
mannerisms. Laurenz, however ss 

“Well? What is there about him that you have to 
find fault with again? ” 

“ Everything,” he said, gathering all his faculties. 

* Please specialize.” 

Then it flowed from him: “ He is an egotist, only 
thinking of himself, and showing off with your beauty, 
just as he is showing off with the beauty of the other 
women he courts. Yes, I am talking seriously, and not 
without foundation for my claims. Or do you imagine 
that he assumes his melancholy air only in your pres- 
ence? Wherever he goes, he poses. The entire fellow 
is artificial. Behind his smooth flattery and coaxing, 
he hides the greatest brutality and lack of regard for all 
others. And that will break through as soon as he has 
the power within his grasp. To-morrow he ignores his 
creatures of yesterday. For the sake of having a jolly 
hour, and a triumph for his vanity, he cares not if he 
makes those who must aid him in gaining his aims un- 
happy for years to come—perhaps for life. He has 
learned his lessons at Paris, and there are more girls 
cursing him than you can imagine. Such parasites as 
he should be destroyed.” 





320 THE ADVENTURER 
** Why did they believe him? ” 


** Don’t you also believe him? ” 

*“ Oh—I! Please not to place me on the same level.” 

‘Because you have more brains and wit than those 
unfortunates? He has not even realized that. He sees 
nothing but your exterior, and that pleases him.” 

** Are you done with your informing against him? ” 

His paleness disappeared, and crimson came instead. 
* You wrong me, Carmen. I am perfectly willing to 
repeat every word I have said to his face, when Laurenz 
comes. If I did choose the other method, I did so in 
order to save you a disagreeable scene. I think too 
much of you for that.” 

** Forgive me, Moritz,” she said, and hastily grasped 
his hand. 

* Carmen 

“IT know that you love me. You see, I speak the 
word myself, in order to prove to you that the thought 
is not a bit offensive to me. But it cannot be.” 

“Why can it not be, Carmen? For I do love you 
truly, and honestly.” 

JT will tell you, Moritz, and I will cloak nothing, ex- 
cuse nothing. Because I am not suited to the narrow 
spirit of a matrimonial union, such as ours would be; 
because, with all I have learned, I could not possibly 
just run alongside, and because my entire being, all my 
gifts, drive me toward the great world without. I must 
be able to spread my wings as far as I choose.” 

“The spirit of matrimony is not so narrow as you 
describe it. Through the camaraderie of husband and 
wife a world can be opened, compared with which your 
longed-for World is but a miserable realm of shadows. 
Your longing is the fever of our time. All those who 


33 





THE ADVENTURER 821 


refuse to be cured, will be invalids when they grow old. 
Just look about among your examples! Dissatisfied, 
restless women, all of them.” 

“Don’t you see many of the same type among the 
average married women? ” 

“The union which I mean would not be an average 
union. The spirit would decide the form.” 

“Oh, my dear Moritz, you cannot rid the world of 
the shackles woman bears.” 

“Fetters of gold are fetters just the same.” 

* Then—rather no fetters at all.” 

* But when the fate of womanhood comes, intoxicat- 
ing words will not suffice.” 

** But the man will.” 

“Tf he would remain steadfast. But you speak of 
exceptional natures so readily, because you are an ex- 
ceptional nature yourself. Carmen, because I love 
you, I beg of you do not examine yourself only.” 

Frau Maria brought the tea. “If it is agreeable 
to you, Moritz, we two will wait a while. Let us first 
get rid of these turbulent spirits for the evening. ‘Then 
we will enjoy a pleasant chat.” 

Carmen drank her tea, walking about. She listened 
to hear the door open. When the clock struck eight 
Laurenz Terbroich appeared. He wore a long pel- 
erine-cloak over his close-fitting costume of the Revolu- 
tion. He had not troubled himself to have his hair 
dressed for the part, knowing that nothing could become 
him better than his own thick dark hair, his smooth- 
shaven face, and the little English side-whiskers, after 
the style of Lord Byron. He greeted those present 
very effusively. 

* You’ve kept me waiting,” Carmen said coldly. 


322 THE ADVENTURER 


“Trouble at the factory. The establishment badly 
needs enlarging. But that is a tune which does not fit 
into our beautiful song. You look stunning.” 

* Let us go.” 

“The coupé is waiting for you. The new pair of 
grays, in their silver-trimmed harness. No lady in all 
Cologne drives like you to-night.” 

“ To-night,” she repeated sarcastically, said good-by 
to her mother and Moritz, and led the way to the coupé. 

Frau Maria set the table for the evening meal. It 
was so cozy in the little room that Moritz Lachner 
scarcely dared to speak. Not until later, when they sat 
in the alcove at the window, did he take courage. 

“* Now they are at the ball,” he began hesitatingly. 

** He has very pretty eyes, Moritz. Or is it just be- 
cause he always drops his eyelashes so peculiarly? ” 

* There are shifting lights in his eyes.” 

* T have noticed that, too, but Carmen will not admit 
it? 

** Because he knows how to shine. And everything 
that shines has an attraction for her. That is sad.” 

“It is a temporary, transitory stage, Moritz. The 
fault of her years. You must not take it so much to 
heart.” 

* Are you not taking it to heart as much? ” 

** When she is married, the luster will lose its fascina- 
tion. And then her deep, real womanhood will come to 
the surface. She has more of that than she realizes.” 

* Are—are they engaged, Frau Doktor? ” 

“Yes. You are asking me something you should 
have known.” 

“T mean, Frau Doktor, did Laurenz Terbroich ever 
speak with you? ” 


THE ADVENTURER 323 


“No. Not that. But ” Frau Maria’s eyes 
opened wide. ‘ Moritz, why did you ask me that? ” 

** Because I have the feeling that young Terbroich 
has no scruples.” 

“Do you mean 

** And because I wish that you would assure and in- 
form yourself, Frau Doktor. Your great confidence is 
an honor to anyone who gains it. Should be an honor 
to any one. People thinking differently ought not to 
exist for us.” 

“Tt cannot be, Moritz.” 

“Do you know that young Terbroich is lavishly ex- 
travagant? ” 

“He is very wealthy. You just heard him say that 
the factory is to be enlarged.” 

* A bluff, Frau Doktor. They are seeking money on 
the quiet.” 

** Carmen is not poor.” 

* Her dowry would be sufficient to pay Laurenz’s 
debts. Not for an enlargement of the plant!” 

“No! No! No! Don’t say that! In that case— 
what a part would Carmen play? ” 

She bent forward and stared into the features of her 
young friend. As if she expected that he could banish 
again the terror he had conjured forth. 

* Frau Doktor, do not be so frightened. Are you not 
her mother? Carmen will believe you.” 

** But what, in all the world? I am groping in the 
dark, myself. As a woman I cannot become a spy. 
What a man may do, would drag a woman down. And 
even, if I did it—if Terbroich is as you say, he would 
lie to me.” 

“He would. At least for the time being.” 





” 





324 THE ADVENTURER 


“My God!” Frau Maria said, closing her eyes, 
* where is Joseph? ” 

It was the first time in years that she had men- 
tioned his name. And the sound of her voice, her sud- 
den longing for the husband, the helper, trembling 
through the words, affected the very soul of her guest. 

“If you would go to him, Frau Doktor.” 

“He would retire from me, just as he retires from 
his entire past.” 

“He did not retire when I went to him. I was in 
Zons and saw him.” 

“You, Moritz? When?” MHer strength had re- 
turned. She grasped the arm of Moritz. 

To-day, Frau Doktor.” 

“To-day? How did he look? I don’t mean only 
externally. Oh, do speak.” 

** He has remained the distinguished, chivalrous gen- 
tleman he always was. Only he has grown serious and 
silent.” 

** And old? ” 

“ And old. Except his bright blue eye.” 

“ Those bright blue eyes ” She said it slowly, 
meditatingly. ‘ Upon those I depend.” 

“Do so, Frau Doktor. Do it for the sake of your 
and of—his Carmen. I will, then, try to have no wishes 
for myself.” 

She heard him no longer. Since Joseph’s name had 
passed her lips, it filled the room more and more, took 
shape, and filled her head with thoughts. “ Joseph . 

Moritz Lachner arose. “I know now what you will 
do.” 

She looked up then. There was a quiver about the 
corners of her mouth. 








THE ADVENTURER 825 


“TJ will be on my guard. Carmen is blind, and I 
cannot even be angry with her, for one believes what- 
ever one wishes. Should you be right, and should my 
strength be insufficient—well, good-night, Moritz. You 
have shown me the darkness, but you have also shown 
me light. Good-night, Moritz.” 

Erect, her eyes clear and calm, she extended her 
hand to him, and he confidently left her alone. 

Again the noisy joys of the carnival had taken hold 
of Cologne, and of its people, to such an extent that 
they forgot allelse. In the afternoon of the last Satur- 
day preceding Lent, Frau Maria left the train at Dor- 
magen, and walked along the road to Zons without stop- 
ping. The intense cold had let up and it was thawing. 
The water of the melting snow ran from the road into 
the ditches alongside, and the ice was beginning to 
break. From the Rhine there came sounds like the 
booming of cannon. Spring was challenging winter to 
battle. 

Without noticing the bleakness of the landscape, 
Frau Maria walked on. She looked older and very 
tired. But, from time to time, she raised her head, 
and when her eyes saw the towers and turrets of the an- 
cient fortress, arising like a “ fata morgana ” out of the 
level land, her eyes would light up, as if she expected 
to find there reply and help. Now she entered the lit- 
tle town, which was not unknown to her, and sought 
the house of old Klaus Guelich. 

Joseph Otten sat in his living-room at his desk. 
Since the visit of his youthful friend, he had grown 
even more taciturn and retired. It was getting dark, 
and, as always in the hours of dusk, he battled with his 
thoughts and insisted upon absolute solitude. 


326 THE ADVENTURER 


*“ Are you here, Joseph? I can’t see you.” 

“ Yes, Heinrich. Do you wish anything? ” 

Heinrich Koch entered the room. With rapid 
strides he went to his friend. ‘“ Yes, Joseph. But not 
I alone.” 

“What did you say? Don’t act so secretively.” 

* Joseph, someone has come.” 

** IT cannot see anybody.” 

** And if it were—Maria? ” 

The chair scraped along the floor. Then there was 
silence. 

** Joseph, your wife has come.” 

He warded off the words violently. A feeling of 
dread choked him. His forehead was damp. Only not 
now, only not now! For that he was unprepared. For 
that he needed better control of his faculties than for 
a trip to church. 

“May she come in? She is waiting in the 
hall.” : 

“Look after her, Heinrich. Get her a carriage, or 
a room at the inn. Ask her to tell you all her wishes, 
and fulfill them. Only one wish cannot be granted. I 
cannot see her. I cannot.” 

* Joseph, your wife seeks you.” 

“Tf you are my friend, Heinrich, do as I ask. Or 
else, I must leave Zons too——” 

Then the friend went in silence. 

Joseph Otten stood at the window. The early moon 
rose, throwing its pale light upon the meadows and the 
river, groaning under the breaking ice. “I am like a 
fish cast ashore,” he thought gloomily, gazing out of 
the window. And more and more he felt how every 
fiber and every part of him longed for the woman, who 


THE ADVENTURER 327 


just then left the house in silence, as if she were the 
better part of his own self. 

His hands clutched the window sill. There she 
walked. ... 

He could barely recognize her figure. He strained 
his eyes. How despondently she walked. 

And that was the only being who had believed in him 
always, in joy and in sorrow. 

* Maria!” 

He saw her disappear in the gloom. 

Where had she gone? 'There—into the meadows of 
the Rhine! No, those were trembling willow-trees. 
And yet! But yonder, there was no road. He tore 
open the window and leaned out. The booming of the 
crashing ice-floes filled his ears. 

The river! 

Cold perspiration covering his forehead, he stepped 
back. Why did she go there? And suddenly it flashed 
through his mind: She will throw herself into the Rhine! 
She is seeking death! Just now her tired soul has re- 
ceived its deathblow. She can stand no more. 

* Oh, God!” he shouted, and, grasping cloak and 
hat, he raced from the house, through the nearest open- 
ing in the town wall, over the meadows, toward the 
Rhine. 

** Hoho—Maria! ” 


CHAPTER XVIII 


Ir was blowing up from the south. The strength 
of the wind increased; shrill blasts shrieked through 
the poplars, and amidst the low crowns of the willow- 
trees hummed a mournful melody. The air was filled 
with the powerful voices of the elements. The clouds 
were being chased as if they were game, with a pack of 
hounds behind. They devoured the moon, gave her up 
again, devoured her again, and yet again. And in the 
sudden changes of the appearing and disappearing 
light, the shadows upon the slush-covered meadows grew 
and assumed horrid immense shapes, struggling with 
each other, mingling and disappearing, to reappear else- 
where and renew their struggle, only to disappear 
again. 

* Maria! ” Otten shouted. And the derisive laughter 
of the storm was the only answer. 

Here, there, everywhere, he believed he saw her. 
The shadows fooled him. On! On! And ina straight 
line he went to the Rhine. “I must find a spot where 
I can see,” he thought. 

He reached the shore. About him there was a tumult 
as of a mass-meeting in stormy political times. As far 
as he could see, the pack-ice lay in a solid mass against 
the river-shore, reaching far out into the Rhine. But 
there, in the center, a battle royal was being fought, 
with crashes and moans and booms, as if great armies 
were in conflict. When the moon appeared from be- 

828 


THE ADVENTURER 329 


hind the driving clouds, throwing pale light amidst the 
struggle, the edges of the ice-floes bobbing up and 
down upon the rushing waters gleamed like giant 
sapphires and opals, bewildering the vision and confus- 
ing the thoughts. 

Otten stood on the shore, wrapped in his cloak and 
with his hat pushed back. With all his might he sub- 
dued the thoughts whirling within his mind, and what- 
ever of life there was in him he concentrated by the 
force of his will into his eyes. The upper part of his 
body bent forward, as he scanned the mass of ice. 

Again the moon was asserting herself. Otten shaded 
his eyes with his hand. A gust of the wind tried to 
grasp him. And in the same moment he threw him- 
self against the gale, hurried, slid, stumbled, and ran — 
over the ice, with bated breath and heaving chest, con- 
centrating his strength. On! on! fifty yards more, per- 
haps half of that, perhaps twice as far. In front of 
him a woman was walking over the ice, toward the 
center of the river. Toward the open water. 

He could not shout, the wind was driving the sound 
of his voice back in his throat. And why should he 
shout? He needed his breath for another purpose. 
Now he came close to the open center of the river. The 
ice beneath him swayed. And a sound as of subdued 
laughter rippled after him from the swaying floes. “ It 
can be no different where she is walking,” flashed 
through his mind, and, suddenly, wild, incoherent 
thoughts pursued each other in his mind. Thoughts 
of miracles of God, of the waters of the Red Sea, reced- 
ing to let the children of Israel pass, of the sun stand- 
ing still at Gibeon, and of the moon doing so in the 
valley of Ajalon. ‘ Why these thoughts? ” he said to 


330 THE ADVENTURER 


himself. Before him an ice-floe rose and sank in the 
current, crawling along like a giant tortoise. He 
leaped upon it, saw the woman’s figure at arm’s length 
before him, grasped her, and tore her away. 

“ Be still, Maria, be still, Maria. I am here——” 

He held her pressed to him, and dared not move. 
His breath came and went quickly, his wide-open eyes 
stared vacantly into space. Is it my heart, or is it 
hers, that beats so violently, he thought, and fog-banks 
danced before his eyes. Then he drew a few deep 
breaths. That quieted him. 

And then he looked at the woman he held in his 
arm. 

Her head rested upon his shoulder, her body was 
inert. Her eyelids no longer had strength to remain 
open, only a narrow streak of white showed between. 
This increased her death-like appearance, and the man 
was shocked by her rigid apathy. Very gently he 
called to her: “ Maria.” 

Her head moved. With an effort her eyelids were 
raised. But her stare was meaningless. The rigidity 
of her features did not relax. 

Softly his palm stroked her face. ‘ Did you really 
want to do it, Maria? Did you really want to? ” 

She closed her eyes tightly, and a shiver went through 
her frame. 

* And do you really think that I would have let you 
do it alone? If there is any one on earth who is 
superfluous, it is I. And you were just about to show 
me how little use I am.” 

Quickly following each other, angry blasts of the 
gale struck the floes of ice. The one they were on was 
thrown against the packed ice leading to the shore. 


THE ADVENTURER 331 


Another floe disappeared before their eyes. “ Joseph!” 
Frau Maria screamed, drawing him aside violently. 

“Do you fear for my life? ” 

“ Come—come away,” she murmured, and she was 
shivering from cold and excitement. 

With his arm about her, he led her upon the packed 
ice. When they had gone a few steps, he stopped and 
said: “ This won’t do. Your cloak is clinging to your 
body like a wet towel. You are scarcely able to stand 
upon your feet.” And he took off her wet cloak and 
wrapped his own about her. “ Do you feel better now? 
Are you feeling a little more warmth? Wait, we will be 
home soon.” 

He placed her arms about his neck, and carried 
more than led her across the ice-pack to the shore. 
There he stopped a moment. Slowly he turned his head 
toward the roaring battle of the ice-floes, and for a 
second the old joy of the victor flared up in his eyes. 

Frau Maria, too, looked back. ‘“‘ Now—it would 
have been all over,” she said drearily. And suddenly 
her nerves gave way and convulsive sobs shook her 
frame, ending in passionate weeping. 

Joseph Otten stood before her and pressed her hands. 
Pressed them harder and harder, to make her feel his 
presence, himself affected to his very marrow. It was 
the first time that he had seen his wife in tears. 

“You will never weep again, Maria. I will see to 
that.” 

Carefully he drew her away from the sight. ‘“ Now 
we will go home. Old Klaus is there, too. Everything 
as it used to be, Maria. You shall have all sorts of 
surprises.” 

From the meadows they reached the street leading 


332 THE ADVENTURER 


to the old town. The lights in Klaus Guelich’s house 
showed them the way. ‘‘ Now, we are both safe,” Jo- 
seph Otten said, as they stepped across the threshold 
into the brightly lighted Diele. 

“ Holy Mother of God!” old Klaus exclaimed, rising 
straight from his seat. ‘ Frau Doktor!” 

** Good-evening, Klaus,” she said softly, and tried 
to smile. 

“Where do you come from? Surely, it isn’t raining, 
little angel? ” 

“TI was here before, towards evening, but I found 
only Professor Koch. Then I went walking along the 
Rhine.” 

* And that scamp, the Reverend Professor Koch, 
didn’t tell me a word about it. But this is no weather 
to walk along the Rhine! Why, you are shivering like 
an aspen leaf, and not a stitch of your clothing is dry! 
Tringche!” he shouted at the surprised housekeeper. 
* Hurry up and get your Sunday stockings and your 
church-dress. And don’t forget the thick felt slip- 
pers. And then a hot punch, a grog stiff enough to 
keep the spoon in it standing up.” 

Professor Koch had come around the table, had taken 
Frau Maria’s hand, and raised it to his lips. 

“J will take her up to my room,” Otten said to him. 
** Will you send the housekeeper up there? ” 

Frau Maria gave the men her hand, and allowed her- 
self to be led up to her husband’s room. A cheery fire 
was burning in the stove. Heinrich Koch’s tender care 
could be felt. The housekeeper came up immediately 
after them, and Otten left the two women alone for a 
while. When he returned to the room, Frau Maria 
sat in the corner of the sofa in dry clothes, her feet 


THE ADVENTURER 333 


and knees carefully wrapped up, taking a drink of hot 
punch at the urgent request of Tringche. “I am well 
again, Joseph.” 

Otten drew a chair near the sofa, sat down, and took 
her hand in his. The housekeeper asked if she should 
bring some food, but Frau Maria said, “I can’t eat,” 
and Otten, too, shook his head. Then the woman went 
with a kind and friendly greeting, and they were alone. 
Both looked down. 

Without, the gale was shaking the shutters, tearing 
in fury around the house, enraged that its victim had 
been torn from its grasp. They both heard it, and 
heard the distant roar of the battle of the ice-floes on 
the Rhine. 

* Why did you want to do it, Maria? ” 

* You needed me no longer.” 

*T had no longer a right to need you, dear. You 
always knew so well how to read my thoughts.” 

* But I needed you. You! Would I have come if I 
had known what to do? You, too, were always able 
to read me; I had never been a puzzle to you, and yet I 
was sent away.” 

“It was done in the excitement of the surprise. I 
was so unprepared that I lost my head.” 

* You see, Joseph, that was the first time that my 
belief in you was shaken. You may often have done 
too much or too little in life, but I have always seen 
only the chivalrous gentleman in you. Even then, when 
misfortune came, I was woman enough to understand 
it all, and, above all, I was your wife. I have made 
only one mistake. I should have forced myself upon 
you. Perhaps you would have recuperated more 
quickly, perhaps we would have grown old and silent 


334 THE ADVENTURER 


together before our time. We would at least have been 
together. But what was left in life for me then, Jo- 
seph? I would not even have had the mission to think 





of you.” 
* Have you forgotten Carmen, Maria? ” 
“ Carmen ” she repeated slowly. “On her ac- 


count I wanted to see you.” 

* Are you uneasy about her? ” 

“She would like to relieve me of my care for her 
also.” Frau Maria stared into her lap. ‘“ She wants 
to have her own way, and she refuses to see whither that 
way leads. Joseph,” it burst from her, “ you must 
help! Give me back my belief in you! The child is at 
stake.” 

She was completely exhausted, and Otten pressed her 
into his arms. “Calm yourself, sweetheart,” he said. 
** Now you are with me, and I am again as of old. Is 
my word still worth something to you? ” 

Then she twined her arms about his neck and sought 
his mouth. And he kissed her pale lips and her burn- 
ing eyes. 

For a while she lay still and breathed evenly. Then 
she said: “ Now I would like to talk.” 

“ Will it not excite you too much to-day? ” 

“What could be hard for me now, since I have your 
help again? ” 

* Ts it on account of Laurenz Terbroich? You know 
that Lachner was here and saw me. But I thought I 
had no right to interfere.” 

** Yes—on account of Laurenz Terbroich. And Car- 
men has reached her majority. Her studies have ad- 
vanced her even beyond her age. Of that I would not 
complain, if she used her rights with certainty of aim. 


THE ADVENTURER 335 


But she does it only when and where it suits her fancy. 
She fears to lose something of life, if she would let a 
festive hour go by, and when she sets aside too many 
hours as festive ones, and I attempt to reason with her, 
she proudly speaks of her blood and % 

* Just say it, Maria.” 

* And cites the example of her father, whom she has 
ever considered her model.” 

“She is my daughter,” Otten said and pressed his 
lips together. 

* Then Laurenz Terbroich came home. In London 
and Paris he had developed into a nice-looking chap. 
If the young girls in general did not make so much 
of him, I don’t believe Carmen would have become in- 
terested in him. But as it was, it pleased her, that he 
seemed to have no eyes for all others, and all his atten- 
tions were for her. There are people who work like 
slow poison. Laurenz Terbroich belongs to that type. 
I, too, was duped. Until a few days ago, I considered 
his cold-blooded scheming to be the passing vanity of 
youth. His life is one continuous lie.” 

* Does he love Carmen?” 

“Who could help loving her? You have not seen her 
for too long a time.” 

** And does she love him in return? ” 

“He builds castles in the air for her, until she 
is intoxicated. Then her fancy runs away with 
her.” 

** And you believe that he does not think of marry- 
ing her? ” 

“He does not even think of being true to her.” 

Otten arose. Several times he walked to and fro in 
the room with gathered brows. Then he remained 





336 THE ADVENTURER 


standing before her. ‘‘ Not true. Much may be read 
out of that word. Has he made her a promise? Does 
he lie to her? Does he attempt things that must insult 
her? To be untrue means to be different from that 
which one pretends to be.” 

“ That’s it, Joseph. And here it is the case.” 

* That is bad for Carmen.” 

She peered anxiously into his darkened features. 
* You will help “i 

He drew a deep breath. “I should like to if I can. 
But I don’t know any reason as yet.” 

Then she continued, speaking hastily: “ Perhaps I 
was too proud of my art in rearing her. When, 
through all the years during which you did not come, I 
could only think of you, I transferred to the child 
everything I should have liked to give to you. Every 
hour I watched over her body and her soul. In that 
way I may possibly have done too much. Carmen saw 
herself too early as the central point, as an exceptional 
being, and her lively imagination raised her still higher. 
She has inherited your artistic vein and your enthusi- 
asm for beauty, joy, and adornment of life. Laurenz 
met her in that, and she accepted his shallow frivolity 
for artistic temperament, his greed for admiration and 
enthusiasm for beauty. It is the eternal mistake. 
And Carmen could not realize it. She saw in him only 
what he pretended to be—the man of. the world with 
big ideas. And at the same time the factory was in 
serious financial difficulties as a result of his ex- 
travagance in London and Paris, which extravagance 
he continued in Cologne.” 

* Are you positive of that?” 

** He knew so well how to throw sand into the eyes of 





THE ADVENTURER 337 


people, that I, too, remained blind, until Moritz Lach- 
ner shook my confidence.” 

** A rejected lover is not an ideal witness.” 

“You wrong him. He does not love Carmen alone, 
he loves all the Ottens with a deeply rooted sentiment. 
He looks up to you with the same enthusiasm with which 
he loves Carmen.” 

* Financial difficulties alone would not warrant using 
force in this case. And if I know old Terbroich, his 
eyes will open despite his blind admiration for his son, 
just as soon as he feels the knife at his throat.” 

“They have been opened. I learned it yesterday.” 

Otten straightened up. ‘“ What did you say? ” 

“I have suppressed my natural instincts and have 
searched wherever there was anything to discover. You 
need not try to imagine how hard it was for me to do it. 
And I found that there had been a very stormy scene 
between the father and the son.” 

* And Laurenz allowed himself to be talked into 
things?” ; 

“He himself made the proposition, an engagement 
with the daughter of another very wealthy manu- 
facturer.” 

** Ah!—And Carmen? Does she know? ” 

“She laughed at me. She cannot imagine that any 
one could forsake her.” 

* And you? ” 

“JT went to Laurenz Terbroich. Pardon, Joseph, 
that your wife did that. But I wanted to know the 
truth at any price, and there was no one else who could 
go for me.” 

“You poor woman,” Otten said with a deep sigh 
and a long look at her. 


338 THE ADVENTURER 


“He has his own home. You know the house on 
Komédienstrasse. Terbroich owns it. I found Lau- 
renz, and I asked him: ‘ What do you intend to do?’ 
And he evaded me with the smoothest of pleasantries. 
‘You may safely leave that to us, Frau Doktor. We 
are still very young, why should we bind ourselves so 
soon and draw a “ finis” beneath our youth?’ Then 
I asked him about the proposed engagement. He was 
surprised, but evaded me. ‘ Perhaps a commercial 
move on my father’s part. The times are somewhat 
difficult. But Carmen and I would not let ourselves 
be troubled by such projects.’ I went as I had come, 
only more ashamed, ashamed not to be a man. I could 
not master him.” 

Otten’s face had become crimson. “That fel- 
low ! I recognize his father in him! ” 

Joseph . 

“They are too careful and too smooth to give them- 
selves away. Let us thank God, when Carmen will be 
rid of that crowd.” 

** And if she should be rid of them—too late? That 
is the torment that is haunting me. If it is not even 
now—too late? ” 

All the color left Otten’s face. ‘ Don’t say that, 
Maria. Not that.” 

“T must. I can wait no longer. It is not only for 
the sake of Carmen. It is also on your account, Jo- 
seph. Your daughter, Joseph! Your daughter a 
plaything! That—that would kill you. And if other 
women, smarter, more up-to-date women, would find 
a thousand pretty words for it—here it is not a mat- 
ter of other women, not of smarter and freer women, 
not of all the women in the world, here it is a matter of 








THE ADVENTURER 339 


your daughter. Joseph: Your daughter! Where is 
the father? I am deadly tired e 

With a violent motion Otten embraced his wife. His 
face had grown rigid as a mask. There was not a 
sound between them, but their deep breathing. And 
then Otten said mechanically: “ Be still, Maria, be 
still ” 

** Now I am quiet.” 

They sat beside each other, embracing. Neither one 
spoke, because their thoughts had been united. At last 
a shiver ran through Frau Maria. 

“T am shivering and yet I feel as if I were burn- 
ing.” 

“You must go to bed. You probably have caught 
cold.” 

She tried to rise, but her limbs refused their service. 
With a tired smile she desisted. ‘“ Now I am putting 
a second burden upon you. I feel as if I had lead in 
my bones. If I only don’t fall ill now.” 

Otten stooped over her. His hands felt her forehead 
and her pulse. “ My God, Maria!” 

** Come, I will lean upon you. Perhaps it is only the 
joy to be able to rest here with you. Just wait; that 
is it. When I awaken to-morrow, everything will be 
well.” 

He placed his arm about her and half carried her 
into his bedroom. There he remained with her until 
she lay down. Her teeth were chattering, and yet she 
found words of care for him. 

“Where are you going to rest during the night? I 
have driven you from your bed.” 

“T’ll camp upon the sofa in the adjoining room. 
That will do very nicely. We will leave the door 


~ 








340 THE ADVENTURER 


open, and whenever you wish for anything, you need 
only to call.” 

“Let the housekeeper bring you up some blankets. 
You will be cold.” Her shoulders shook. 

* Don’t you worry about me, dearest.” 

* Dearest ” she murmured. 

“T’ll get you some hot tea at once,” he said ex- 
citedly. “We will soon defeat the cold. You have 
suffered enough now.” 

She looked after him with shining eyes as he left 
the room. Downstairs he met old Klaus, Heinrich, and 
the housekeeper. He told them in a few words what 
was needed, and then sat down silently beside the range, 
waiting for the tea. When he started upstairs again, 
Koch came after him. “Can I assist you in any 
way?” 

“No, thank you. I hope she will soon fall asleep.” 

** Joseph, I will wait up down here.” 

“ Hadn’t you better go to bed? It is late.” 

“JT feel as if on this night you would like to have a 
human being about you.” 

“Well, all right then.” And hastily he went up- 
stairs. 

Frau Maria’s eyes had been fixed on the door. And 
they lit up once more when he entered. He noticed 
her look and blushed. “Do you feel warmer?” he 
asked. 

“You must not worry about me, Joseph. Else I 
must get up and look after your comfort first.” 

He braced her back and handed her the tea. “ Drink. 
It is piping hot, and the housekeeper swears by 
vi Hog 

She slowly sipped the tea, and whenever she stopped 





THE ADVENTURER 341 


she rested her head against his arm. She never took 
her look from him. 

“ How nice this is. Two old people.” 

“Yes, Maria. You will not be able to make much 
of a show with me. My vanity has succumbed to time, 
and my hair has paid the tribute. Gray, gray, gray.” 

“ And my hair is white.” 

“How becoming that white is to you. I cannot 
imagine that you have ever looked different. It makes 
you look so peaceful and so motherly. In my case it 
is only decay.” 

** You have remained the same in every feature. As 
one grows old his conception of the beautiful changes, 
and that is well.” | 

“Well, and now no more flattery,” he ordered, and 
let her head sink into the pillows. Then he tucked her 
snugly into the blankets. ‘“ Now, if you love me, you 
will go to sleep at once.” 

* First I want to see that the housekeeper fixes up 
your sofa-bed.” 

* You incorrigible. . Well, I will call her, then.” 

Tringche brought blankets and pillows, arranged 
the sofa, looked after the lady, tucked her in still bet- 
ter, and disappeared with many good wishes. 

** Good-night, Joseph.” 

** Good-night, sweetheart.” 

For a moment she closed her eyes, then she opened 
them wide, raised her arms, and quickly drew his head 
to her breast. ‘“ Joseph Now, both of us are old 
people—— Good-night.” 

He sat upon the edge of the bed until she had gone to 
sleep. ‘“* Now, we are old people,” he repeated to him- 
self. And he shook his head. ‘One only needs to 





342 THE ADVENTURER 


draw the circle closer, and then he remains young. Old 
Klaus feels as if he were a youth.” 

Quietly he arose and left the room. In doing so, he 
remembered that Heinrich Koch was waiting up for 
him. “T’ll sit down with him for a while yet,” Otten 
thought. ‘We began together as boys, and now we 
are closing the circle as grayheaded old men. Within 
it lies our youth.” 

Heinrich Koch sat at the oaken table and dreamt. 
The light of the lamp fell upon-his serious, wrinkled 
face. When he heard Otten’s step, he jumped up and 
went to meet his friend, grasping and pressing the 
other’s hand silently. 

* What does this mean, Heinrich? ” 

“Tt means a congratulation.” 

** Have you become a mind-reader in your declining 
days?” 

“Tt requires no art in your case. Happily, you are 
not a complicated nature, and your eyes are like those 
of a seafarer, seeing land at last after a long and ardu- 
ous voyage amidst storms and hurricanes. Land, Jo- 
seph! ” 

“JT thank you for your congratulation. You have 
made no mistake, Heinrich. I feel my blood circulating 
again.” 

** A human being needs a mission. You are a happy 
man.” 

They sat opposite one another as they had done so 
often, and they looked at each other as after a long 
separation. ‘ Old Klaus has gone to bed. I think we 
are the only night-owls in Zons,” Koch said. 

“Maria was feverish, But she went to sleep 
easily.” 


THE ADVENTURER 343 


“Only people free from care go to sleep easily. 
Doesn’t that make you thoughtful, Joseph? ” 

“IT can see the many nights she went to sleep with 
difficulty. She must live long, if what has been missed 
is to be made up to her. And yet it was a matter of 
seconds.” 

“Yonder?” Heinrich Koch silently pointed to the 
window. 

* Yes, over there.” 

They both listened. From the distance came the 
sound of the crashing ice-floes, driven northward by 
the mild breeze from the south. Like a battle of spirits 
it sounded in the night. 

* To-morrow,” Heinrich Koch said, “ to-morrow or 
the next day, the river will be free from one shore to 
the other, and will be able again to do its duty upon the 
short stretch to the Netherlands.” 

“The Rhine—and I, Heinrich. The short stretch 
to the Netherlands.” 

* But to end better in your case. Not to be split 
up in many small channels. The entry into the sea 
must be free and proud.” 

“That is the way we dreamt about it, when we were 
boys.” 

** And we will say that we have no need to be ashamed 
of our youth. Above all, you, Joseph. The sunset 
shall be as beautiful as the sunrise. Only not to grow 
small.” 

“Those are almost the identical words I said to 
Maria, when I spoke to her of my love the first time,” 
Joseph Otten replied after a pause. “ And she be- 
lieved me. Then! And now, it is high time that I 


344 THE ADVENTURER 


make good that promise and many another. 
Then ! In the meantime I have grown fifty-five 
years old. And there are many years of warfare be- 
tween. And they count double. Then, I thought that 
they would only count half, and, really, at first it 
seemed as if I had guessed the truth. It remained that 
way for a long while, because Maria made everything 
so easy for me. Then,” he said, and again, “ then— 
then * And he began to speak of the days gone by. 
It was like a joyous remembrance of days and of things 
he had never spoken about to a third party. He told 
of Maria’s lonely youth, of their first meeting at 
Koblenz, of their comradeship, and of their love. He 
resurrected the entire springtime of his existence, its 
hopes and its fulfilments. He spoke of their wander- 
ings, of Carmen’s birth, of his pride as a father, of 
their matrimonial union, transformed by Maria’s gentle 
hand into a port for every storm, until he had started 
upon his last disastrous journey. 

A fine blush had mounted to the forehead of Heinrich 
Koch. “ Now I, too, have lived through all of that,” 
he said. “I thank you, Joseph.” 

“JT almost feel,” Joseph Otten said, “as if I had 
solved the mystery of my decay.” 

“Then the process of decay is halted.” 

* You think you know that? ” 

“T knew it long ago. But a fellow must experience 
that in himself, if it is to work miracles.” 

** Yes, Heinrich, I had always allowed Maria to take 
every burden from my back, and I never carried any. 
That was it. And I stood angrily by the wayside, and 
thought that my strength was exhausted, because I did 
not know how to use it.” 








THE ADVENTURER 345 


Heinrich Koch pointed to the ceiling. ‘“ Maria has 
brought you a mission.” 

Joseph Otten arose. In his haggard frame every 
nerve was tense. “The child is in danger,” he said, 
and it was as if a glad light leaped into his eyes, a sud- 
den hunger for life. 

“Did I not prophesy to you, that you would be a 
happy man? ” 

The two grayheaded friends stood, looking at each 
other with flashing eyes. The night-wind swept over 
the meadows without, and over the Rhine. The battle 
of the ice-floes was still going on. ‘ The Rhine is furi- 
ous, because I was the victor. Do you hear?” And 
they listened and laughed. .. . 

“T must look after Maria. Just let morning come. 
I am still alive.” 

They shook hands, and Otten went upstairs, erect and 
vigorous. He had never felt happier in all his life 
than in this hour. 


CHAPTER XIX 


Tue church bell at Zons announced Sunday morn- 
ing. The entire countryside lay silent and expectant, 
absorbing the festive atmosphere of the Lord’s day 
that seemed to emanate from the belfry, and spread 
over the meadows and tilled fields like a benediction. 
The wind had driven the clouds away. The sun, grow- 
ing warmer with the approach of spring, arose and 
shone upon the landscape and the river, which had won 
again almost the entire width of its course, and was 
carrying the floes of ice upon its broad back as if they 
were light toys. Occasionally there was the sound of a 
big cake breaking away from its shoreward fastenings, 
to turn about abruptly and to hustle after its com- 
panions toward that treacherous freedom. 

Tringche, the housekeeper, returned from early Mass, 
which she had never missed since the day when the 
strange guests had arrived at her house. The congrega- 
tion was small. There was not much te see, and the 
simple soul used the time and the opportunity to ask 
the dear Saints to pray for the salvation of the mem- 
bers of the household, who had remained at home and 
were trying in their own way to bring about a direct 
understanding with their Creator. When she entered 
the kitchen, the fire was burning brightly, and Pro- 
fessor Koch was standing beside the range, watching 
the water come slowly to the boiling-point. 

“Ts the lady feeling better? ” she asked, and immedi- 
ately started to help. 

846 


THE ADVENTURER 347 


“Feeling better would be saying too much. But 
she is awake. We will quickly prepare the tea.” 

A few minutes later, Koch, carrying the tray, stood 
before the door of Otten’s room and knocked softly. 
Joseph Otten opened the door. He received the tray, 
thanked Koch with a nod, and stepped back into the 
room, carefully closing the door again. From the bed- 
room adjoining came the sound of short, quickly drawn 
breaths. 

Tenderly Otten cooled the steaming beverage and 
carried it to the bed. “ It will do you good, Maria.” 

At the sound of his voice, she opened her eyes. “I 
feel very feverish, and I have such pains in my head 
and chest.” 

** We'll down those pains, Maria.” 

“ Joseph,” she said, grasping his hand, and then she 
obediently drank. 

After a while she asked about the weather. “ The 
sun is shining? Please open the shutters. I would like 
to see the whole room full of sunshine.” 

He complied immediately. ‘‘ You need not stir. [ll 
push another pillow under your head, and then you can 
look out of the bed through the window. So—— _ Is 
that nice? ” 

** Beautiful *” she said, as she lay and looked with 
wide-open eyes into the fiery orb of day. 

Toward noon she became more restless. ‘“ Joseph— 
it is more than a cold, after all.—I can scarcely breathe, 
and—I feel a throbbing—everywhere.” 

He held her pulse between his fingers and felt her 
forehead. “I will have a physician called at once. 
He shall fight the fever. And to-morrow you will be 
well.” 





348 THE ADVENTURER 


Upon the stairway he met Koch, and, after a short 
conference, the Professor hurriedly grasped his over- 
coat and hat, and started for Dormagen to hunt up the 
physician and the drug-store. In the meanwhile after- 
noon came. Otten sat at the bedside of his wife, and 
held her hand. He had placed a bag of cracked ice 
upon her chest, and renewed it after a couple of hours. 
Then she felt some relief. 

** Don’t write to Carmen. She shall not be fright- 
ened.” 

“Is she alone at home! ” 

“The maid is with her. She is reliable. And 
Moritz Lachner will look after her.” 

“Do they know that you are here? ” 

** Moritz Lachner knows. And he will tell her.” 

“If you feel better to-morrow, Maria, I’ll go to 
Cologne.” 

She squeezed his hand, closed her eyes, and slumbered 
for a few minutes. An expression of pain was visible 
in her features. Restlessly she moved her head about 
and awoke. “ My breathing is growing more and more 
difficult.” 

He cracked some ice into tiny bits and placed them 
on her tongue. In doing so, he supported her head, 
as a mother with a child she wishes to aid, and she 
pressed her face against his arm. 

* Stay here, Joseph.” 

** Gladly, dearest 2 

“Once, when I was a little girl, I had the fever. 
That is the most beautiful memory of my childhood. 
Doesn’t that sound foolish? And yet it is so. For 
then—my mother looked after me—all day long. And 
that was so nice. When I lay on her arm, I would 





THE ADVENTURER 349 


be quiet at once—and would dream. Of beautiful 
meadows and warm sunshine, and of a swing between 
two big fruit-trees, upon which I would rock to and 
fro, oh, so easily. Oh, that was a delightful feeling. 
Free—and yet protected and safe. And now, I am 
rocking again.” 

* Because you are protected and safe.” 

* Protected and safe. Yes How wonderful it 
is that it repeats itself—Repeats itself now.—I was 
not allowed long—to be a little girl—On that account 
—those days have remained—so vividly in my memory. 
And, later—at times when I was very, very tired—I 
have always secretly wished those days back again. 
Often—often—very much. But then I had—that big 
boy—to rock—that big boy—who was my husband.— 
That came first—And now—you are doing for me— 
the same service—of love.” 

** Don’t speak so much, dear, it is too much of an ex- 
ertion for you.” 

“Oh, that makes no difference.—Really—I have 
never spoken much—in life——But to-day—I love to 
talk.—I can’t explain it to you.—But it seems—to me 
—as if I had to chat with you—all the while—all the 
while. There is so much—that I have neglected—to 
tell you.—I always felt ashamed—to tell it.—I did not 
want you to think me forward.—That I loved you so 
passionately.” 

* You—dear ”? Otten said and softly rocked her. 

* Now, I am again—in the swing.—The one beauti- 
ful childhood memory—that I have retained—is taking 
form again—so that I can grasp it.—That is—like a 
resurrection.—Oh, Joseph—to be here with you is so 
nice——” 








350 THE ADVENTURER 


**T believe,” Otten said, “ you even wish to thank 
me.” 

* T have reason for it. No. No. Don’t contradict. 
When I am going to die—I will tell you.” 

He rocked her to and fro. His gray hair lay close 
beside hers, white before its time. 

The carriage of the physician drove up in front of 
the house. Heinrich Koch had been compelled to wait 
for him, and had brought him along after a brief ex- 
planation and after they had obtained at the drug- 
store everything that might possibly be needed. The 
physician knocked at the door, and Otten called, “‘ Come 
in,” without leaving his wife out of his arms. For a 
moment the physician remained standing at the 
threshold, surprised at the strange scene. Then he 
quickly entered and introduced himself. 

* Permit me to proceed with the examination at 
once,” he said, and Otten made room for him. He 
passed his hand over his forehead and stood at the foot 
of the bed, so that Frau Maria could see him. It 
pained him, when the physician uncovered her chest. 

The examination was quite lengthy. In the mean- 
while the physician asked questions about everything 
that had preceded the attack. Before Otten could an- 
swer, Frau Maria did so. She did not want him to 
make a painful confession. 

“So you have been walking along the Rhine in this 
nasty weather. These early spring storms are very 
treacherous. And, at all events, you were in a con- 
dition of mental distress, which made you more suscepti- 
ble for the contraction of the illness. Well, it is only 
an affection. The main thing, gracious madam, is that 
you follow instructions absolutely. Then you will soon 


THE ADVENTURER 351 


be able to take walks along the Rhine again. But the 
weather will be better then. Shall I ask a Sister of 
Saint Vincent to come here from the convent, and look 
after you? ” 

* If you could intrust me with the service, Herr Dok- 
tor, I would like it much better,” Otten said, stepping 
forward. ‘“ What I may lack in experience, I would 
make up through reliability.” 

*T only thought that ladies among themselves 

“My wife is accustomed to me only.” 

“Very well. Then I will give you the necessary in- 
structions, and that would best be done in the presence 
of the housekeeper.” 

Otten politely opened the door, nodded to his wife, 
and followed the physician, who remained standing on 
the stairs. “ Listen, Herr Doktor Otten, that is no 
slight affection, as I told your wife, in order not to dis- 
turb her. It is my duty to be frank with you, and I 
trust that I may.” 

** Without reserve, if I may ask.” 

‘It is pneumonia, rapidly developed. Even if I do 
not fear the worst at once, I must point out to you 
the seriousness of the situation. My instructions must 
be carried out to the letter. There must be a night 
watch, to renew the compresses and packings every two 
hours, and to be ready at any minute to give assistance 
to the patient, by giving her relief through small 
pieces of ice, and to stimulate her heart action through 
drinks of champagne. I would like to ask you once 
more, if it would not be better to send for a Sister.” 

* Herr Doktor,” Otten answered quietly, “ if the pos- 
sibility exists that with my wife it may be a matter of 
one or two nights, then I want these nights for myself.” 


” 





352 THE ADVENTURER 


“That possibility does exist. Nothing definite can 
be said until to-morrow. In the other case, how- 
ever——” 

* In the other case—and I hope with every fiber that 
this other case may result—there is no human being 
on earth able to give more aid in the speedy recovery 
of my wife than I—I alone will be the winner—just as 
I alone would be the loser.” 

They descended the stairs, and met Heinrich Koch 
and old Klaus on the Diele. And while the physician 
searched among the medicines he had brought along, Ot- 
ten had silently joined his friends and sat down between 
them. With secret wonderment the physician looked 
at the strange gray-headed trio—— 

Then he called the housekeeper and repeated his in- 
structions. Otten had arisen immediately. 

“T’ll drive home now,” the physician said to him, 
“but I will be here again this evening at about ten 
o’clock, to give the patient a few hours of sleep, in 
case the difficulty in her breathing should increase.” 

Otten grasped his hand. His eyes searched the 
features of the physician for a few seconds, as if he 
might read more there. Then he dropped his hand. 
“1 thank you.” 

* Auf Wiedersehen.” 

Otten bowed, turned about, and walked past his 
friends without a word. They looked after him, as he 
ascended the stairs, and continued listening, until they 
heard the door of his rooms close. 

He was not able to enter the bedroom at once. In 
the center of his living-room he stood with staring, in- 
credulous eyes, and the words of the physician: “ There 
is danger—there is danger,” went through his mind 


THE ADVENTURER 353 


again and again. He could not realize their truth. 
They must have been meant for someone else. And 
again his brain worked until it pained him. Yes, in 
truth, the physician had been here and had spoken; 
had spoken of Maria, and what he had said could not 
be wiped out: Maria was in danger! That was incon- 
ceivable. Maria ? Was it possible that she would 
leave him alone? What? Had he not left her alone 
all these years, and wished that he be left alone? But 
that had been in the past! What connection did yes- 
terday have with to-day? What did all those years 
mean to him? Only the present was to be considered. 
That which had happened since he had her again. 

And now—it was to be all over? A last flash, light- 
ing up his existence, and shaking it up? To show him 
the way?—And then—it was to be over? 

“No!” he exclaimed in a low tone, setting his teeth. 

His frame straightened up, his eyes glowed. With 
clenched fists he stood there, gathering all the self- 
control of which he was capable. 

In the bedroom Frau Maria stirred: “ Are you 
there, Joseph? ” 

He straightened up anew, forced a smile, and entered 
the bedroom. 

“ Did the physician say anything else outside? Any- 
thing that I was not to hear? ” 

Gently he laid her down again among the pillows. 
“He only repeated his instructions, so that you may 
feel better by to-morrow. In that you must aid us. 
During the evening, he will come again to look after 
you.” 

** Joseph—don’t let any Sister come to nurse me.” 

“Will you like it better, too, dear, if I nurse you? 





354 THE ADVENTURER 


It is egotism on my part. I would like so much to pay 
back a little.” 

* It is egotism on my part.” 

For a few seconds she lay still and tried to ease her 
chest. Then she continued: ‘“ It may also end in an- 
other way than we hoped. If that should be the case— 
then I will have you till then—all to myself.” 

He felt a hot wave passing through his body. Those 
were the same thoughts he had expressed to the physi- 
cian a brief moment ago. And now the chords of their 
souls harmonized, as they had done so often—as they 
had done always. 

“We belong together,” was all he could say. 

* Do you feel that, Joseph? ” 

He did not answer. He laid his head close beside 
hers upon the pillow. Slowly evening crept into the 
room and enfolded them. 

They had exchanged but few words. Words of ten- 
derness, that were as a breath, and yet they filled the 
room. Now Otten lit the lamp, and renewed the pack- 
ings with a deftness that astonished him. He gave 
her medicine. The thermometer showed an increase of 
the fever. 

With the advance of evening, she felt that she was 
growing weaker. Her breath grew hotter and more 
violent, and her effort not to let it be noticed made her 
talk confusedly. The housekeeper brought the stim- 
ulants the physician had prescribed, and she took them 
without hesitancy. She, also, obediently drank the 
champagne Otten gave her from time to time. Then 
she began to talk in a low voice, in short broken 
sentences, which she timed to her breathing. She spoke 
of things near and far, and everything she said came 


THE ADVENTURER 355 


in the same strangely important tone. As if there had 
been nothing whatever in her life that was not im- 
portant. 

Her sentences grew in length and in excitement. Her 
head jerked, while Otten held it in his hands. “If I 
could only sleep,” she murmured in exhaustion. 

Intensely Otten listened. No sound coming from 
without escaped him. Far away some merrymakers of 
the Carnival shouted. That was all. And the hands 
of the clock pointed to ten. Every minute seemed to 
be an eternity. Now! The sound of rolling wheels. .. . 
He breathed, relieved. A carriage stopped before the 
house. 

The physician had examined lungs and heart anew. 
Bravely Frau Maria stood it, though every motion 
caused pain. “I am bringing you sleep, gracious 
madam.” And quickly he gave her a morphine injec- 
tion. He remained sitting at her bedside until the ef- 
fect was produced. In the midst of her relation of 
joyous things that occupied her mind, her head dropped 
and she fell asleep. 

* A woman with a clear head and strength of will,” 
the physician said. ‘ Not a syllable about herself, not 
a complaint of her pains. Only occupied with those 
who are near to her. Now I understand, Herr Dok- 
tor, why you would have no other nurse.” 

Otten looked at him gloomily. This country physi- 
cian had learned to appreciate her in a few hours. 
Ironical Fate sneered into Otten’s face on account of 
his own tardy understanding. ‘“ Yes, yes,” he an- 
swered. 

“JT have heard much of you, Herr Doktor, and in 
former years I have admired you greatly. You have 


356 THE ADVENTURER 


had much out of life. Do not forget that, when it 
makes demands.” 

* No, no——” he replied. 

“To-morrow morning I will be here immediately 
after office-hours. I wish you both a good-night.” 

Then Otten was alone with the sleeper. And while 
he watched her, and placed his hands upon hers, as if 
he wished to assure himself of her presence, his thoughts 
were in turmoil, seeking a word he had just heard, chas- 
ing it around in a circle, and playing ball with it. 
“Demands. Demands. What demands could there 
be left?—None. None. Silence within! Brace up, 
Joseph.” 

Once she awoke. It was past midnight. He utilized 
the opportunity to renew the applications, and to give 
her a drink. She had scarcely touched the pillows when 
she was asleep again. 

Otten thought he heard some soft sound outside of 
his door. When he opened the door, Heinrich Koch 
stood before him, and old Klaus was waiting on the 
stairs. 

“Well, Heinrich, it is fate. Kaum gewonnen, schon 
zerronnen—scarcely won, and lost again.” 

Heinrich Koch shook his fine scholarly head. “ Even 
if the worst should come, Joseph, Frau Maria is not 
like every other woman—something remains.” 

* Something.” 

“Enough for you, who had expected nothing at all. 
And, perhaps, even so much that I may have a share.” 

“ Jupp,” old Klaus said; “ up with your head. Keep 
your neck stiff.” 

Then a fleeting smile passed over Otten’s stony 
features. “I will. Good-night.” 


THE ADVENTURER 357 


The short conversation had done him good. It had 
a lasting after-effect. “Only the boyhood friendships 
endure,” he thought. ‘ What follows after is not un- 
selfish. Where are all the later friends? Gone with 
the last bottle of wine to which I invited them. 
Habeant sibi.” 

He dreamt with open eyes. Of old Klaus and of his 
own father’s vessel, and Klaus the skipper. Of Hein- 
rich Koch, the merry little comrade, who always romped 
at his side. And of the little sneak—what was his 
name?—Oh, yes, Metardus—Metardus Terbroich. The 
name chased his dreaming. Metardus — Laurenz. 
* Hypocrites—We’ll have an accounting.” 

Watch in hand, he attended to his duties as a nurse. 
Before dawn, Frau Maria awoke.  ‘ Good-morning, 
dearest,” he said, stooping over her. “ How do you 
feel? ” 

Her glances passed over him and over the walls, and 
then they returned to him. ‘“ What was it? That last 
matter? ” 

“You probably have dreamt, dear. Do you recog- 
nize me now? ” 

* You? Why should I not know you, Joseph? You 
and Carmen Oh, please call her.” 

“You are in Zons, Maria. Are you still suffering 
pains? ” 

“ Pains—pains?” she murmured. “Yes, I have 
pains. In one way, they are not pains. It’s only the 
breathing. If I could only just once—draw a good 
deep breath.” 

Shortly after she suffered a severe attack. She 
fought for air until her body half arose. Her hands 
clutched at the bed-covers. At once Otten brought her 





358 THE ADVENTURER 


into a sitting position, and tenderly stroked her moist 
forehead. She tried to speak. Her breath came and 
went in short, hard gasps. ‘“ Thanks,” she finally said. 

After that she lay without speaking, trying in vain 
to gain victory over the difficulty in breathing. In this 
condition the physician found her. 

When Otten showed him out of the rooms, the physi- 
cian’s face was grave. ‘“ The fever has increased. We 
can do nothing but continue the same treatment. I 
can’t make any promises.” 

* You must.” 

“ T cannot.” 

** Allow me to have a second physician in consulta- 
tion.” 

“TI was just about to ask you to do so. Have you 
anyone to suggest? ” 

* Privy-Councilor Dr. Bartels of Cologne. He was 
our family physician.” 

“ll telephone for him at once from the station. 
We can both be here in the afternoon.” 

When he returned to his room, Otten found Koch 
there, to his surprise. ‘‘ What do you want here? ” 

“See to it that you remain sensible, Joseph. Our 
patient is slumbering. Now, you lie down upon the sofa 
at once, and try to sleep, too. I'll call you in two 
hours, or sooner, if our patient wakes up. My word 
upon it. Remember that you need your remaining 
strength during the coming night.” 

Without argument Otten did as he was told. 

In the afternoon the two physicians came. Life in 
the little town seemed to have been awakened this day. 
The wave of the carnival did not pass even this silent 
spot, without quickening its pulse-beat. Frau Maria 


THE ADVENTURER 359 


had heard the coming of the carriage. From afar she. 
heard the sounds of singing and of music. ‘ What 
day is this? ” she asked. 

** Rose-Monday.” 

** Rose-Monday It is a pretty name.” 

The physicians entered. The _ privy-councilor 
grasped Otten’s hand and pressed it warmly. He had 
been one of Otten’s most enthusiastic admirers. This 
lean man with haggard face and gray hair was Otten? 
He would have recognized him only by those flashing, 
steel-blue eyes. 

** Herr Geheimrath, if you cannot help her, give her 
relief. She is entitled to that.” 

“JT know. I'll do my share.” 

After a quarter of an hour, while the other physician 
remained seated before the bed, he took Otten aside. 
* The heart is worn out. It has no power of resistance 
left. Pneumonia alone could not have done it. I have 
given her camphor, to stimulate the heart action. That 
deceives for a few hours. But, as I have said—it only 
deceives.” 

** She must not suffer!” 

“During the night you may give her some more of 
these drops. The consciousness of pain is decreased 
through them. She was a brave woman, Herr Dok- 
tor.” 

* Ah—she was 

And again he was alone with his wife. He had closed 
the window-shutters, so that no sound from without 
should disturb her, and had placed the lamp in the most 
unobtrusive spot. 

And while the night came, and hour after hour passed, 
bringing nothing, but taking away, he told her whisper- 





199 





360 THE ADVENTURER 


ingly of all those years of which she knew not, and 
which had belonged to her just the same as those others, 
because throughout them his longing had fluttered and 
hovered about her, like a shy bird. 

“Now, I am making up for it all at once,” she 
said. 

And he replied in bitter self-accusation: “ What a 
life you have had 2 

Her hand stroked the bedclothes, as if she thus could 
relieve his remorse. He had to stoop low over her, in 
order to understand her. 

** No woman was more happy. For I was not only 
permitted to be a love, but also to be a comfort. Who 
else can say as much? And that I was allowed to be 
your comfort—that makes my life—beautiful.” 

** Maria, now it is my turn.” 

* You see—it has—come—to you—too. And if you 
—help Carmen—you’ll see—how feeling—can counter- 
balance—a life.—Help Carmen—J oseph.—Whatever— 
you do—for her—you do—for her mother.” 

Her difficulties increased. He gave her the drops, 
and she dozed for a while. Once more she spoke, with 
great effort. “ Is—morning—here? I—would—like 
to—see it.” 

He opened the shutters and let the early light of day 
flood the room. The morning sun flickered through the 
window panes. 

* Sun ! You—Carmen—and the sun.” 

**'The sun’s name has ever been Maria.” 

* Joseph * she said with great difficulty, 
** you !’? And she looked at the sun... . 

Suddenly her eyes opened wide. She looked at her 
husband. She tried to say something more, but she 














THE ADVENTURER 361 


could not: She tried to bid a last farewell. But the 
word she tried to say became a heartrending smile. 

He held her in both arms and drew her tightly to his 
breast. And he read in her eyes what she wished: 
* Kiss me, Joseph.” 

Then he placed his lips upon hers and kissed her, as 
she breathed her last. 

When the physicians returned an hour later, they 
found him, his arm still placed about her dead body. 
And when they had gone again, he still sat in the same 
position. All morning long. Alone with his thoughts. 

It was almost noon before he came down to the Diele. 
Heinrich Koch and old Klaus arose from their seats. 

** Joseph vd 

* Tt is all right.” 

** A dispatch—for Frau Maria.” 

He took the telegram. “For Frau Maria in 
Heaven.” 

* Joseph,” Heinrich Koch said, “I loved her like no 
other woman on earth.” 

** A mourner the more.” 

“ Two,” said old Klaus, “two more, Jupp.” And in 
his emotion the old man broke his clay pipe and walked 
heavily out of the house. 

** Won’t you open the telegram? ” 

“ Oh, yes.” He tore it open and read. First Moritz 
Lachner’s signature. Then the text. “ Terbroich and 
Carmen intend going South to-morrow. My explana- 
tions rejected by Carmen as incredible.” 

Joseph Otten read twice. And, as he read the sec- 
ond time, he laughed harshly. ‘“ Patience——” 

* News from Carmen, Joseph? ” 

** She will be here to-morrow.” 





362 THE ADVENTURER 


* Thank God.” 

Otten paced up and down the hall. “ We will lay 
her to rest the day after to-morrow.” He stopped in 
his wandering and looked at the ceiling. “ Here, so 
that we will have her near us, whenever we may need 
her. The dead bind more securely than the living. 
Will you do the necessary errands for me, Heinrich? ” 

* Certainly. Ill do everything that will be needed. 
Don’t you trouble at all. Shall I telegraph Carmen 
also? ” 

“No. Iam going to the station myself. I have to 
take a long walk, go on some errand; I don’t know 
what. There is some will, some testament to execute, in 
order that her little treasure may not be stolen.” 

* Can I not look after the matter for you? ” 

“No. No human being can do that errand for me.” 

He took only a glass of wine. He could not be in- 
duced to take any nourishment. Then he stood before 
the corpse upstairs for a long while in hat. and cloak. 
The clock in the church-tower struck an hour of the 
early afternoon. Then he tore himself away. 

* Now I am going, Maria.” 

And he went. Silently he walked around the old 
town, and silently he walked along the road to Dor- 
magen, the same road Frau Maria had traveled over 
three short days ago. He thought of that, as he went 
on his way. “ She executed her mission. I must not 
remain behind.” 

He hurried as he neared the station. 

**T have a mission to fulfill. I must bear the conse- 
quences of my life. No one can get away from that. 
Not if he had escaped to the most lonely island. A big 
tidal wave hauls me down. It matters not if I have 


THE ADVENTURER 363 


thought the consequences of my life different, merrier, 
and more easy. It is no longer a question concerning 
me, it is a question concerning those I shall leave be- 
hind. Well, I am still good for something. Rest easy, 
Maria.” 

It being the day before Ash-Wednesday, there were 
not many passengers on the train. Otten took his seat 
in a first-class compartment and remained alone. Slowly 
the train proceeded from one station to the other. He 
did not notice it. He sat in the corner and thought. 

“There is a squaring up of things. Because I could 
not pass a woman without finding her beautiful, I must 
go out, now that I am an old man, in order to protect 
my daughter. And protect her from such a scamp. 
That is the worst of it.” 

His tired eyes closed. As if he had caught himself 
doing something contrary to his duty, he started up. 
“Stay awake, Joseph. Afterwards there will be plenty 
of time to sleep.” 

There stood the old Cathedral of his home city, 
raising its three fingers as if administering an oath. And 
Otten straightened up, left the depot, and entered Co- 
logne. 

He had entered a madhouse. The finish of the car- 
nival swept through the streets and the alleys. To- 
day we still live, to-morrow we die. Hence enjoy life 
while it lasts! Ash-Wednesday will be here to-morrow. 

A wild crowd of costumed people met him, singing a 
crazy carnival song, hoarse from the exertions of the 
weeks of hilarity. The sounds hurt his ears. He drew 
up the collar of his cloak and pulled his hat down over 
his eyes. Only not to be recognized! The air was in- 
toxicating through the noise, and the atmosphere acted 


364 THE ADVENTURER 


as an intoxicant upon the people. The whole thing ap- 
peared repulsive, disgusting to him now. Well, he had 
come to help in the sobering-up process. 

The crowd forced him from the Domplatz into the 
Komédienstrasse. It was the street he sought. In 
front of young Terbroich’s house he braced himself 
against the throng, and he was pushed into the entry. 
The house lay in silence. The people living on the 
ground floor were enjoying the last of the Fasching. 
None thought of anything else this day. 

Joseph Otten went up to the story above, where 
Laurenz Terbroich lived. He was absolutely calm as 
he rang the bell. 

There was no sound within, and Otten made the bell 
ring more shrilly. 

“Hey, Johann!” a voice within was heard. “ Of 
course, gone to the devil. Everything is crazy.” And 
then there was a sound of grumbling, half angry, half 
laughing. The door opened. Laurenz Terbroich, a 
black domino hanging over his shoulders, stood face to 
face with his visitor. 

“Well, sir? You wish?” 

* So far as I am concerned, but few words.” 

“You see that I am just about to go out. With 
whom have I the honor? ” 

“Tam Doktor Joseph Otten. Let us step in.” 


CHAPTER XX 


Lavrenz Tersroicu had stepped aside involuntarily. 
With open-mouthed wonder he looked at the apparition. 
Then he pressed his thin lips together and inflated his 
nostrils to master his surprise. ‘‘ Herr Doktor Ot- 
ten? ” he finally asked and smiled obsequiously. ‘“ You 
have returned to Cologne? ” 

** Just on your account.” 

Laurenz Terbroich closed the corridor door and ad- 
mitted the visitor into his parlor. “ Pardon the lack of 
order, Herr Doktor. My servant took this afternoon 
off, on account of the end of the carnival. I, too, in- 
tended going to an affair. During these days a fellow 
scarcely gets out of his domino. But then, you, too, 
have been young, and were not slow in these things. 
But, really, things do look disgraceful here.” 

He sputtered out the sentences as if he did not wish 
to give his visitor a chance to speak, as if he tried 
from the beginning to lead the conversation into light 
channels. 

Joseph Otten looked about observantly. The salon 
was fitted out in good taste and quite harmoniously. 
Old, well-framed oil-paintings hung on the walls. Upon 
the table there stood a bronze cast of the Venus of Milo, 
about a foot high. Beside the figure stood a slim, long- 
stemmed champagne glass of Venetian workmanship, 
half filled with the sparkling beverage, and in a metal 
cooler the empty bottle. With an ironical smile, Otten 

365 


366 THE ADVENTURER 


looked from this to the owner, who played nervously 
with his small side-whiskers and stroked his smooth- 
shaven lips. 

“Did you drink to gather courage, Herr Ter- 
broich? ” 

“Courage? Oh, no. But in this’ carnival 
mood 6 

“ Seriously, has not this carnival mood been your 
usual mood during these last few years? ” 

“You jest. I am not a drinker, usually. I only 
wished to be in a jolly frame of mind when I started 
out to-night.” 

“You have something especial in view, then, to- 
night? ” 

* No, nothing especial. Just the usual big Kehraus- 
ball, the finishing ball of the carnival.” 

* Alone? ” 

“What do you mean? ” 

**T mean, whether you intended going there with my 
daughter? ” 

** With—your daughter? ” 

“ Herr Terbroich, you act as if you were not aware 
of the existence of my daughter? That would really 
not displease me at all, if it were a fact. But let us 
stick to the truth, or—if you should not know the 
meaning of that word; upon real, solid ground.” 

“ Herr Doktor, your insulting insinuation 

“Oh, please. I am to be considered only in second 
or third instance. You feel that yourself, don’t you? 
And here we will not battle with syllables. The situa- 
tion is not suited to that, and time is too valuable. 
Well, then: You know Carmen very well, Herr Ter- 
broich? ” 





39 





THE ADVENTURER 367 


Uncertain lights danced in Laurenz Terbroich’s eyes. 
His small lips trembled. “ Of course,” he answered 
shortly. ‘ We have been friends from childhood.” 

“Would you be kind enough, to tell me something 
of the development and aims of this friendship? ” 

** Such a love-story ought not to be very interesting 
to you.” 

* Ah!—Love-story. A moment ago you called it— 
childhood friendship. I see, we are rapidly getting to 
understand each other better.” 

“JT do not understand you at all, Herr Dok- 
tor.” ; 

“JT would not like to disturb you in your pleasures, 
Herr Terbroich. Therefore let us march straight 
ahead, and within a quarter of an hour we can part 
with a friendly bow.” 

** What is your purpose, anyway? This is no day 
for serious discussion.” 

* For me all days have become alike. And if they 
were not, you would leave me no other choice. And 
that you expect serious discussion, is proven by your 
own words. Please, speak on.” 

* Herr Doktor, I object sid 

“Speak on!” It sounded like a command. 

“Really, I don’t know what you want of me,” 
Laurenz Terbroich muttered. 

“In other words: You want me to ask. Very well, 
then. You love Carmen is 

** We are very fond of each other.” 

* You are very fond of each other 
loves you in return? ” 

“She returns my feelings for her.” 

“Very diplomatically said. But with that we make 








And Carmen 





368 THE ADVENTURER 


no headway. What sort of feelings are those you 
mean? ” 

A suddén, stubborn anger flashed up in the face of 
Laurenz Terbroich. ‘“ That is our own affair.” 

“Not quite, Herr Terbroich. If I should fall into 
the same tone, there will be a disaster.” 

Laurenz Terbroich started. He looked searchingly 
at his strange visitor, towering before him, tall, hag- 
gard, and sinewy. “ Did you not have your little se- 
crets when you were young? ” 

“Thad them. But not alone. Another shared them 
with me.” 

“ That is the case here, too. Carmen and I under- 
stand each other fully.” 

** Understand what? ” 

“Our love, or our friendship—or whatever else you 
choose to call it.” 

* Not what I choose to call it. I want to hear what 
you two call it. You are silent ? Well, then, let 
us assume that you have made up your mind concern- 
ing this attachment. What do you intend it to lead to? 
For there must be some aim, some goal.” 

“That matter we have left to the future to decide.” 

“This future, however, seems to me to be very close 
at hand. Let us assume that this future is to be to- 
morrow. What ails you? To-morrow is a day like all 
other days. Well, then, what would you do to- 
morrow? ” 

Laurenz Terbroich fumbled nervously with the but- 
tons of his domino. “If you wish it,” he said finally, 
making a strenuous effort to show politeness in his 
manner and speech; “ if you wish it, I will talk it over 
with Carmen this evening.” 





THE ADVENTURER 369 


** Don’t continue to evade me.” 

*T am not evading you at all. I am good-natured 
enough to permit this inquisition on your part, although 
you, least of all, have any right to act in this man- 
ner " 

** Will you stick to our topic? ” 

“ Surely, you cannot reverse all the maxims of your 
own life? ” 

“For my child,” Otten said icily, “I could do a 
great deal more than to throw all of my so-called wis- 
dom of life upon a rubbish-heap. Rest assured upon 
that point.” He checked himself. “ But then, you 
don’t understand that. You cannot understand it, un- 
less you had lived a life like mine. I do not wish to 
judge you too harshly.” 

“T could not accept you as judge, either. There are 
women a-plenty I could name against you.” 

“ You are talking of other people, and I am speak- 
ing of my daughter, sir.” 

* Well, yes, what of it RE: 

“Of my daughter! There is a difference!” 

“ That is, if you permit, absolutely illogical.” 

“It is my logic, because it is my daughter. I should 
be very sorry on your account, if you would close your 
ears to this logic.” 

His eyes did not leave Terbroich for a second. A 
flush of angry irritation mounted to Laurenz’s face. 
“That logic is too much for me.” 

* You intended going on a trip South with my 
daughter to-morrow.” 

* Who says so? ” 

“JT am not narrow-minded enough to attempt to dic- 
tate to human beings who love each other. But I must 








370 THE ADVENTURER 


know the grade and caliber of that love. I am certain 
that Carmen builds upon your honesty. Otherwise she 
would not have gone so far with you. For as to her 
pride, I presume we are of the same opinion.” 

“Carmen is too broad and too free a being to place 
such importance upon the customary thought of 
matrimony.” 

“Not the thought of matrimony. The thought of 
fidelity.” 

* We are true to each other.” 

“And will remain so? Then it would be a true 
union.” 

* That does not depend upon me alone.” 

“ You lie, man.” 

Laurenz Terbroich started up. The two men 
stood facing each other angrily. 

“You lie. For you are trying to make me believe 
that that could also depend upon my daughter. And 
in the same manner you lie to my daughter, when you 
paint for her a picture of fidelity, while, as a matter of 
fact, you would not like just yet to lose the pretty toy. 
Not yet. But you will not go one step farther, Ter- 
broich. I warn you! She is my daughter!” 

* You are insulting me in an unpardonable fashion.” 

* That insult can be wiped out quickly. Answer me 
clearly and without beating about the bush: Do you 
intend to marry Carmen? ” 

“That is out of the question just now. Although 
Carmen has a small fortune, it would not suffice to 
establish us free and clear of debt. And the factory 
could not at the present time support another house- 
hold beside my father’s, in the style I am accustomed 
to, and as I should have to have it if I were to marry. 


THE ADVENTURER 371 


Aside from that, the factory requires modernizing and 
enlarging, for which enormous sums are needed, which 
will have to be obtained.” 

“That was honest. Marriage being out of the ques- 
tion, we have to consider the other possibility: that you 
intend to remain single, in order to sanction your love 
and Carmen’s. Just give me the assurance that each 
will see in the other a companion, helpmate, and part- 
ner for life, and I will go.” 

Laurenz’ Terbroich played with the glass he had 
taken from the table. ‘‘ How can a human being make 
promises for so long a time? And for himself and 
another to boot? ” 

“You shall only promise for yourself, and for the 
time you can count upon according to honest judg- 
ment.” 

**I—can do that.” : 

“Then you will go with me, and break your engage- 
ment to be married.” 

Laurenz Terbroich started again, this time so 
violently that the glass he held gave a sound as it 
struck the edge of the table. “ Are you—crazy? ” 

“Then you admit that this engagement exists! The 
same engagement you denied with your glib tongue to 
my daughter. Not a word!... The devil! what a 
low-lived scoundrel. And with a thing like that I have 
to deal.” 

“Ts the conversation ended? ” 

** Will you change your mind? Will you come with 
me, and show yourself as a decent man? ” 

“T give up Carmen.” 

“How grand! One cannot dispose of things one 
does not own.” 


372 THE ADVENTURER 


“* [—dispose. That is my explanation.” 

“You mean disks 

* What I have said,” replied Laurenz Terbroich, 
raising his glass toward the light. 

** And you dare to gain by such a swindle a gift that 
is for life? ” 

“Qh, this serious treatment of the matter 4 

Joseph Otten did not let him finish. Suddenly every 
drop of blood seemed to have left his face. His hand 
grasped the little bronze statue, and, with a short, 
violent swing, he struck Laurenz Terbroich’s temple 
with the edge of the figure’s base. As if he had been 
struck by lightning, Laurenz Terbroich dropped, half 
turning, against the table, and slid to the floor with a 
thud. 

* Vermin ” Otten said, looked at the bronze base, 
which had remained clean, and replaced the figure upon 
the table. Laurenz Terbroich lay still. His hand still 
clutched the Venetian glass, which had cracked, as he 
fell. The domino hung about his body. 

Otten looked at the body with an expression of con- 
tempt. “I have done him a friendly service. And I 
like to accomplish my good deeds with as little noise as 
possible. The name of Maria and of my daughter 
must not be dragged before the public. Hence, let us 
say no more of our good deeds.” 

He took his hat, left the room, drew the door of the 
corridor after him until the lock snapped shut. The 
residents of the ground floor had not yet returned from 
their carnival tour through the city. And as soon as 
he stepped out of the house, he was swallowed up by the 
hilarious crowd, flowing by in a steady stream. 

He succeeded in reaching the evening train for Dor- 











THE ADVENTURER 373 


magen. And again he sat alone with his thoughts in 
the compartment. 

“Until now I have never done anything for my 
daughter. But now I have done for her the only thing 
I could do. I have given her a new life—— No 
human being knows of that which she called her youth, 
because she believed just as Maria believed. Only I 
know it. And now there remains for me but one duty, 
and that duty rises above all others. The duty of 
the father. And that commands me—to remain 
silent.” 

And once more he said, as he had done a short while 
before: “‘ Rest easy, Maria.” 

At the station at Dormagen he wrote and sent a long 
dispatch to Moritz Lachner, telling of Frau Maria’s 
illness and death, and asking his young friend to break 
the news to Carmen as gently as possible, and to bring 
her to Zons on the morning train. Weary but erect, 
he walked along the road, around the little town, and 
entered Klaus Guelich’s house. 

“JT will sleep now,” he said to Heinrich Koch. 
“ Whatever had to be attended to has been done.” 

He thanked his friend for the offer to occupy his 
room for the night, but declined, and walked up to his 
own room. He sat beside the dead for a long while. 
He had a report to make. 

Upon the narrow sofa-bed the housekeeper had fixed 
up for him he lay down, and he slept all night through, 
without dreaming. When he awoke, it was morning. 
Heinrich Koch knocked at the door and told him that 
the coffin had just been brought. He admitted only his 
friend and old Klaus to the rooms. The three carried 
the coffin upstairs and into the bedroom, and they 


374 THE ADVENTURER 


placed Frau Maria in it. No strange hand was to 
‘touch her. ‘“ She need not be adorned. One does not 
give pennies to a rich man.” 

Then the omnibus drove up, and Lachner and Car- 
men stepped out. Otten stood alone in his room, await- 
ing his daughter. They let her enter alone. 

Without a muscle in his face twitching, he stood 
there, awaiting her. Now she was in the room. Now 
she ran toward him. Now she twined her arms about 
his neck and pressed her body against his, closer and 
closer, as if she must grow fast to him. And he en- 
folded her in his arms and pressed her against his 
breast. 

A single short, wild cry filled the room for a sec- 
ond. And yet they both had uttered one. 

Joseph Otten had gone downstairs to greet Carmen’s 
escort. He found him in the hallway, beside Heinrich 
Koch. “I thank you, Moritz. Don’t seek for words 
to express your sympathy. You are the best consola- 
tion yourself.” 

He sat down with them at the table, and there was 
silence for a while. 

“ Herr Doktor, Lachner has some news for you from 
Cologne,” Heinrich Koch said finally, looking intently 
at his friend. 

“Ts it important? ” 

“Had I not better wait with it? ” Moritz Lachner 
said confusedly. 

* Just tell it. Some time we will have to begin liv- 
ing again, at any rate.” 

* Laurenz Terbroich is dead.” 

“Ts that so important? ” 

“It is a strange coincidence.” 


THE ADVENTURER 375 


* Really.” 

“T had just received your sad telegram, and was talk- 
ing over with my father in what manner I might pre- 
pare Carmen for the shock, when the door-bell of the 
store rang, and Carmen stood before us, as pale as a 
sheet. ‘“ Laurenz is dead,” she said, and we helped her 
into a seat. They had had an appointment for the 
evening, and, as an hour over the appointed time had 
passed, she had taken a carriage and had driven to his 
house. There the man-servant told her. Old Ter- 
broich and the family physician were upstairs at the 
time. They admitted no one. And then she had come 
to our house directly. And now I had to tell her the 
worst. I did it as carefully and as gently as I could, 
because I feared a shock to her nerves. But she sat 
there as if she were made of stone. Only once the word 
‘mother’ escaped her. But it was more than the most 
violent outbreak of grief. Then she asked for shelter, 
and I went out to make some inquiries about Laurenz’s 
death. He had met with a mishap. The servant told 
me that he had left him drinking champagne, to find 
him dead when he returned in the evening; in his 
domino, which he had scarcely shed during the Fasching 
time. While intoxicated, he had fallen, striking his 
temple against the sharp edge of the table. Death had 
been caused instantaneously through a cerebral hemor- 
rhage. Old Terbroich did not want the circum- 
stances of his son’s death to become known. Laurenz 
was to be placed in his coffin even last evening. 
The servant was given a vacation, and sent to his 
home.” 

Joseph Otten had stood looking out of the window 
while Moritz Lachner spoke. Now he turned his head. 


376 THE ADVENTURER 


His eyes met the eyes of Heinrich Koch. Neither 
flinched. 

“It is Ash-Wednesday to-day,” Joseph Otten said. 
* Now the mummery is at an end.” 

* And life demands us again,” the old scientist re- 
plied. 
* Or we life.” 

On the afternoon of the next day, Frau Maria was 
laid to rest. It was a sunny day, a forerunner of the 
coming spring. 

When they returned to the house, Carmen went to 
her father’s room. He felt that she needed the hour 
for herself, and did not follow her. Moritz Lachner 
remained with the men. 

* When the days grow longer and warmer,” Professor 
Koch began after a while, “ we can begin our researches _ 
outdoors. I would question the entire nether Rhine 
about the days of the past, and learn things of the peo- 
ple who had lived upon the river’s shores. And when 
we have found that everything in its own way was no 
different from what it is to-day, our own lives will not 
seem so remarkable to us at all. How would it be, Herr 
Kollege, if you would join us in this work? We could 
also teach Carmen the methods.” 

Moritz Lachner looked at Otten. “Carmen? Other- 
wise, I would only have to suggest my father’s house.” 

Otten nodded. “ It is a second-hand shop.” 

A fine flush mounted to Lachner’s brow. “It de- 
pends upon the way one looks at things,” he said softly. 
“If a person retains the eyes of his childhood, he sees 
a princess, though she might be in rags.” 

Otten extended his hand to him across the table. 
“Come again. We can make use of you.” 


THE ADVENTURER 377 


*T will tell Carmen!” And he went upstairs to 
place his plans before her and to direct her thoughts 
to the future. 

The two friends were alone. 

** As long as the little one is here,” Otten began, as 
if he were talking to himself, “I have sunshine. Even 
if it is stolen. Ihave her. But if the child were to be 
taken away from me, and I would be all alone, and the 
horrors would come e 

Heinrich Koch looked at him. There was silence. 
And Heinrich Koch said amidst the silence: “ I am no 
longer a priest, and I have not the right to take con- 
fession and to give absolution. But I can give you my 
hand, if the horrors threaten to come. They fear old 
friendship.” 

They both looked out upon the flat country around. 
A procession was going along the road. Pilgrims, go- 
ing to the picture of the Mother of God at Kevelaar. 
Broken sounds were wafted over from there. “ Ave 
Maria.—O Maria, hilf!” ... And the motorboat, 
having resumed its duty as ferry between Zons and Ur- 
denbach, glided over the Rhine, bringing a crowd of 
young artists from Diisseldorf, still under the influence 
of the carnival mood, and bent upon serenading the 
castellated old town. And they found nothing more 
fitting than the old song of praise for Cologne: 





* Koln am Rhein, Du schénes Staedtchen, 
Kéln am Rhein, Du schine Stadt 





“There goes the past, to the right and to the left,” 
said Heinrich Koch. 
Old Klaus came into the room, pulled a chair into 


378 THE ADVENTURER 


the corner beside the fireplace, and quietly enjoyed his 
pipe after the excitement of the day. 

Joseph Otten arose. His steel-blue eyes shone. He 
walked to the window, opened it, and let the air stream 
ie 
The heavens were lit up by a beautiful sunset. 


THE END 





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